The Rogues
by Lady Marauders4
Summary: Harry Potter, fresh off the events of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, feels alone and abandoned by everyone he thought he could trust in Britain. But what if he didn't have the childhood his friends thought he'd had? What if he'd been taken in by another family? A family who could help him fight Voldemort, the ministry and the Order if need be?
1. Chapter 1: Plots and Plans

AN: I edited this chapter because it was rather poorly written, though its not much better now, it is better. I hope.

Chapter 1: Plots and Plans

Celladonna Bristol, the youngest President of MACUSA ever (getting elected at the ripe old age of 19, or two years ago), could feel a headache coming on. She fought the urge to simply close her eyes and wait until the blithering idiot in front of her left, or shut up, or even began to use someone's brain (for he certainly had none to call his own). Cornelius Fudge was always taking subtle digs at her for being elected at such a young age, but behind his back, all the other ministers and Cella, said the real miracle was how he became minister. In a country where Albus Dumbledore could have done it. That still baffled her now, really.

He had only been Minister since 1990, but she, who had taken over in January of 1993, was too new!? And obviously impressionable and easily intimidated. As if.

It was his very presence that made her wish her friends were here instead of spread around the world doing their own thing. Frankie was at Castelobruxo School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Brazil for a teaching conference, it being summer vacation and all. Lily was in California, actually not out of town, at work, and Kate was in Japan with her sister, Jamie. Even Jamie's friends, (the two friend groups were friends themselves) were not available to save her. Tiffany Lee was Jamie's best friend and owner of a restaurant in New York. Jake Castillo, Auror Team 6 member, was busy with some classified (though not to her should she bother to look) mission. Jamie was a professional Quodpot player during the fall and winter, and Quidditch player (Keeper) during the Spring and Summer. She currently played for the Tokyo Trolls (what a hideous name) Quidditch club. Kate was there for moral support. And Kenna Mayer was the editor in chief of Witch Weekly, and currently in Britain reporting on the idiot in front of her. And his government's claims. Which brought her back to here.

"Let me see if I understand you correctly, Minister." Cella began. If she did, there would be hell to pay, for him that is.

"Albus Dumbledore has made a speech announcing the return of Voldemort at an ICW meeting, based on the word of Harry Potter. You do not believe them and called for a vote of no confidence. At the next meeting all the members will vote to see if he should retain the title of Supreme Mugwump, and Head of the ICW. You want my support."

"Potter and Dumbledore are simply trying to cause unrest, you have an opportunity to stand with peace by providing your assistance. You are very young, my dear, even if you are head of a world superpower, it would still be best if you do not make any enemy out of anyone. I don't think your voters would approve of such a thing, especially as you are relatively new and, 21 years of age. "

In other words, he needs powerful backing to go against Dumbledore because he feared him. And he wanted her to help.

"I see… well, I will have to look into the validity of your concerns. Depending on the findings, I will consider helping your smear campaign against a 15 year old boy and one of the greatest wizards of all time." She drawled.

Fudge flushed and turned a deep purple, "Well, that's not quite right…" He spluttered. "It's… its, I'm trying to maintain the peace!"

"And I am telling you I will speak at the ICW meeting." She said curtly.

"Oh! Yes, good, good, thank you dear." He blubbered.

As soon as he left, she burst into movement. Pulling a thin silver chain, that held star with a blue sapphire center pendant, out of her shirt, she quietly muttered the password, "Going Rogue."

The necklace shifted before her eyes into a leather bound book with a blue sapphire on the cover. She opened it gently and pulled the pencil held in the spin out and began to write. _Meet me at Tiffany's place at 11:00 tonight. Emergency_.

Almost immediately, green ink filled in below hers.

_I am stuck at the Dursleys, who can pick me up?_

Below it, Kenna began to write in pink._ I am in Britain for work, I can get you._

Cella belatedly realized Harry probably shouldn't be seen with them at all. There was no need to risk involving him anyway. They could always fill him in later. _No, Harry doesn't need to come. We can fill him in after._

His response was immediate, _What! Why? I want to come, I need to get out of here, there isn't any news coming from here and none of my friends have told me anything! I want to be involved!_

Kate thankfully choose then to check in with red ink._ Relax, Harry. They are under a lot of stress too. We will make sure you are up to date. There isn't anything happening over there anyway._

Katharine Ross, Professional Dueller and former apprentice of Drake Herr, was the best duellist in the world, hands down and was Cella's best friend. She won her first international dueling championship when she was 12, and then defended it for the next 7 years. She only slowed down because she was "bored" and had made more than enough money to be set for life. Kate had also gotten a Curse Breaking and Warding (with spell creation) mastery from Drake Herr, the American version of Dumbledore.

Drake was much younger, very rough around the edges and had only ever taken one apprentice, Kate. He was really a great friend once you broke past his walls and met the real person. He was severely overshadowed by Albus Dumbledore however and claimed to despise the man, but they, the four of them, knew that he didn't really. Drake and Dumbledore could fight until death did them (or Dumbledore more likely) part over who was more powerful. But Drake knew better. Cella knew better. All four girls did actually.

Kate was (secretly) the most powerful magical ever according to the Merlin scale. Not that she ever acted like it. No, all three of them had inevitably gotten into trouble as kids. Kate and Frankie in Thunderbird, Lily in Wampus, and Cella, herself, in Horned Serpent. Best of friends since before they even started school.

They had met at a quidditch game. While quodpot was more important in the US, Quidditch was famous everywhere else, and with their parents apparently. Kate and Cella, who had met about three months earlier, had gotten lost and run into Frankie and Lily, who were family friends. They had been terrified and had run around until they accidentally found their way into one of the teams' locker rooms. They had ended up almost trashing the place in their haste to get out and accidentally stolen a blank Team USA quidditch jersey. As soon as they had touched it, it had changed into the most bizarre thing. The number 4 had appeared and where the name was supposed to go, The Rogues had appeared.

Kenna had the wisdom to withhold mentioning the smear campaign. _Don't worry, we'll visit as soon as possible and fill you in. If your friend still haven't written, let us know, we can take you._

This seemed to placate the boy-who-lived, for he agreed shortly there after.

Jake chose that moment to appear with brown writing. _What about me? I am still out on a mission._

_I'll send a recall for you in a moment. You will be back in time. Cella wrote to him. Is everyone else able to come?_

Jamie's purple was the first answer, _We'll be there._

_If Cella gets the recall in time, I'm there._

_Yes, and don't worry Harry, I'll have to go back to Britain anyway._

Tiffany, in her black, responded with a simple _Yes._

Frankie, in silver, and Lily, in yellow both answered positive and they were all set. Now, for that recall…

11:00 THAT NIGHT

All of "the rogues" as they called themselves and were later known as at school, had assembled by five minutes past. They sat around their HQ above Tiffany's restaurant. The main room was windowless and contained a full bar (and kitchen) along the wall with the door, complete with nine stools. The far corner held a TV with a tape player and a radio surrounded by two three seater couches pushed against each of the walls. A coffee table sat in between the TV and three more recliners, all facing the screen.

The middle of the room, the side not taken by the bar, sat a large pool table, this portion of the wall, all the way down to the corner was taken by a massive book case, enchanted to have more shelf space than physically possible. It held books, movies, knickknacks, pictures, paperwork and all manner of items to be used by all members (even a firebolt or two). The final corner, in between an opening of a hallway, and the door to the stairs for the restaurant, sat a table for six. It had but one chair and was laden with yet more paperwork and maps amongst other things that the group was working on. All in all, the main room of the magical expanded HQ was quite the hub of activity.

They collectively decided that some snacks, for the long travels, were necessary as they caught up with each other and waited until everyone was ready.

"Apparently Hogwarts is still struggling to find a DADA Professor… they appealed straight to the convention..." Frankie was telling Cella.

Jake, Jamie and Kate were in a deep discussion about the Bulgarian Quidditch League versus the Japanese League. "Krum makes all the difference, I tell you! Players make the league, not the records!"

"But the Japs are much more competitive…."

Lily, Kenna and Tiff were more interested in the newest medical developments out of St. Jude. "Yes, we are currently working on a way for vampires to stop needing blood..."

It was about 15 minutes later that Kate finally called everyone to attention. "I believe Cella had something important to discuss with us?"

The tall, (6'0) wavy and dark brown haired, blue eyed pure blood nodded, "Yes, I found out what Harry said he would tell us when he was ready."

They all perked up at that. About two weeks ago, the Triwizard Tournament, something Harry had been entered in against his will, had concluded. They had all gone to the first or second task and/or Yule Ball to visit their youngest friend but none had been present for the third. Then the fact that Cedric Diggory had died and Harry was the winner and only witness broke all over the world the next day. They had been horrified and a few (Kate, Jamie, Kenna, Lily) quite ready to storm Hogwarts but the more rational of the group (Cella, Tiff, Jake, Frankie) had talked them down. This hadn't stopped them from asking Harry directly, but he hadn't really said anything other than it was bad but they didn't need to panic.

Then chaos had broken out and the speech from two days ago by Dumbledore had told them what they needed to know. But they still felt there was more. Fudge had told Cella what he knew.

"Yes, Barty Crouch Jr., a former death eater, who was supposed to be dead, impersonated Alastor Moody and entered Harry in the Tournament. The trophy was a portkey to a graveyard where Diggory was murdered by Pettigrew and Voldemort was reborn using a ritual. Harry shelled him and escaped."

The entire group sat in a heavy silence as Cella told them what she knew. Her voice was completely devoid of emotion as she spoke and when she was finished, she lost the battle with her emotions and the tears began to fall. Kenna, Tiff, Lily and Jamie were soon to follow. As it sunk in Jake shot up angrily and began to pace with nervous energy while Frankie squeezed her eyes shut and buried her head in her hands. Kate simply sat there, frozen in shock, before she suddenly shot up and slammed her fist into the wall. Her string of swear words pretty much summed up the feelings of the room.

Cella mentally cursed Fudge and his stupidity as she continued with news that would enrage her already furious friends. She watched her best friend warily as she resumed her seat. Kate would never intentionally harm a friend, and she had ridiculous amounts of self control, but she also had a lot to control to begin with. And sometimes she took the rash action even after she'd thought it through.

"Uh, guys, that's not all…" The stricken looks on all of their face made her want to cry harder. And she'd just pulled herself together too.

"What, Fudge is ignoring it?" Jake asked sarcastically.

"And actively trying to ruin Harry and Dumbledore. He's already booted him from Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and has called for a vote of no confidence for the ICW, it will happen tomorrow." Cella added reluctantly.

That certainly put a stop in whatever was going to be said. They, by now, had pulled themselves together and were seated again. The occasional sniffle broke the silence that followed as the full gravity of the situation in Britain crashed on all of them.

"We have to do something!" Jamie said suddenly, breaking the depressing mood.

"But what?" Kenna asked. "Voldemort isn't really a threat to anyone outside of Britain, never has been."

"He aims to take over the world and kill off or enslave all muggles and muggleborns! That includes Jamie and I!" Kate snapped.

"Yeah, but, think about the political backlash from us interfering. Cella's the president, for Merlin's sake! And you are an American icon, so is Jamie! And Frankie would be considered an agent of Ilvermorny and I, MACUSA!" Jake pointed out.

"Guys! There is another way we can help!" Cella interrupted. "Fudge asked me to help him unseat Dumbledore tomorrow, he doesn't have the political power by himself to take him, but the US does, and I'm young to boot."

"You could publicly support him. That may not help as much in England, but internationally, it would acquit him pretty well." Frankie mummered, almost to herself. Professor Francesca "Frankie" Smith, Transfiguration Professor of Ilvermorny and Head of Thunderbird, looked up suddenly, the black haired, brown eyed Filipino (a tall 5 '10) still had tear tracks on her face. "Send Drake. That would get a lot of attention, and he'd do it too."

"That's brilliant, and I'll talk to him in a moment, but it doesn't help Harry." Kate said. "He needs support, and information, he said he isn't getting either."

"Well, we could bring him here for the rest of the summer." Tiff offered, "I'll be with him all day, nobody would recognize him so far from Britain and he could be with actual family."

"Yea, but we'd have to do it quietly, no need to draw attention to it. Wear disguises and everything." Cella said firmly, she always made sure they couldn't get in trouble, typical politician. Thankfully she had all of them to keep her honest.

"I think he needs somewhere quiet, animals and love are always the best therapy." Lily said flatly. "I could give him PTSD counseling myself." Lilian Raymond was Head Healer at St. Jude Magical Hospital and was a 5 '4 ball of fierce. As head of the biggest magical hospital in the United States and one of the largest research centers in the world, she was known for inventing the wolfsbane potion, amongst others as a potions and healing mistress.

"Not suggesting what I think you are, are you?" Jamie asked her.

"Why not? Frankie and I could move in full time, neither of us have work, you get off Quidditch in three weeks, everyone could move in and simply go to work from there. It's plenty big enough, and our parents are there." Kate reasoned, mind already made up.

The Rosses were a wealthy family in both worlds, and as such they owned a ranch next to Glacier National Park in Montana. It had five dogs, a herd of a hundred cattle, and nearly thirty horses. There was a lake with a small motorized raft, several different cabins, a large main mansion, rock formations to climb, a quidditch/quodpot pitch, a pool, and several four wheelers. All under the best wards Kate, Jake and Drake could put up (impenetrable in other words). It was an ultimate retreat in which their parents, Jonathan and Debra lived in one of the smaller cabins.

The main mansion definitely had enough room for all of them but only half of their usual rooms were in the mansion. There was a cabin, across the dirt driveway from the house that held Jake, Kenna and Cella, Tiff would have to stay with her restaurant, though there was space for her as well.

"Everyone's going to be in a tizzy, I bet Dumbledore scrambles his people to find him, but Fudge will cover it up no doubt." Jamie grinned.

"Cella can help them and do some misdirection so he can't be found, but that still doesn't solve the school issue." Kate said.

"The only way I can think of would be to send someone with him." Jake said, "Maybe undercover. I could go on a classified mission and get in. It is my job, after all." Auror Team Six did the most covert, secret and dangerous operations in the world. They were the best of the best in the American law enforcement and magical military. Jake was proudly a top member, even though his identity was top secret. Not that the other Rogues didn't know about him.

"It's not worth the effort to breach Hogwarts, or the awkward questions if you get caught, not to mention if they connect you to his summer disappearance." Cella told him flatly.

"We don't have to sneak in." Frankie told them.

"Then how are we supposed to…" Lily asked with a frown. Even Cella looked lost at that.

"Well, the defense position is open." Frankie clarified, "One of us could take it. Dumbledore is getting desperate, I think he fears his ministry trying to fill it."

"I'll do it." Kate said immediately. "I always kind of enjoyed teaching, and I'm more than qualified. I also don't really have a job, I'm just a freelance warder and cursebreaker."

"And dark creature hunter, and a dark wizard defeater, and a guest lecturer, and a backup chaser and a few other things." Jamie added helpfully.

Kate rolled her eyes, "It's perfect, and no offense, but I am closest to Harry out of all of us."

Nobody could really argue with that, except maybe Jamie. They had moved to Britain when they were 10 and 11 and lived there until they were 15 and 16. Kate and Jamie had befriended Harry and spent their entire time protecting him, even if they never told him about the wizarding world. Their friends had been over frequently so they had gotten close to him as well. Harry, when he'd found out, hadn't been too upset. They hadn't tried to hide the fact they had to keep something from him.

The reason they went to Ilvermorny instead of Hogwarts was because, in the US, when a muggleborn first does magic, they are informed of the wizarding world right away, instead of waiting until they are 11. Then they are brought into programs to integrate them. It silenced any pureblood prejudice and helped protect the kids from losing control or getting in trouble.

"Ok, and we'll give outside support during the year, offer to help fight Voldemort, get Drake to stir up some trouble." Cella finish with a nod.

"It's a plan." Frankie agreed, "We can tell Harry tomorrow, and iron out some of the details. Jake and Cella, you should get as much information as possible, Kate you need to floo Drake first thing in the morning so he has time to get ready. But for now it's late."

Tiff waved her wand to clean up the empty plates where the food had been. "Are you all going to stay?"

Several sleepy nods later, Kate, Cella, Frankie and Lily were piled into a room together. It had two bunk beds, four desks and four dressers as well as some armchairs and a bathroom. Jamie and Kenna were piled into their own room, with two full sized beds, two dressers and two desks. Tiff went to her own room and Jake transfigured a couch into a bed for the night. Only a few of them bothered to change.


	2. Chapter 2: Declaring War

Chapter 2: Declaring War

THE NEXT DAY

Drake Herr, one of the greatest wizards alive, watched in thinly veiled disgust as Cornelius Fudge, British Minister for Magic mingled amongst the other delegates from other countries. He was clearly brown nosing, and only the power of the British magical community kept them from sneering at him. While Fudge was a weakling and pathetic, Britain had a large amount of powerful wizards and with Dumbledore living there, it was a powerhouse of a magical country. Unfortunately for them, they weren't a big country, either muggle or magical, thus, while powerful, they were not the world superpower that the United States was. So Drake could sneer all he wanted.

Albus Dumbledore came in later, head held high despite the disdain he received. While Drake personally thought Dumbledore was pompous, self righteous, annoying, and not terribly humble, he held him in high regard. He was a good man, fundamentally, and he fought for the light and gave it his all. He had sacrificed a lot for the world, and Britain especially, only for his own countrymen to treat him like a piece of trash and take him for granted. It was even more frustrating because someone like Dumbledore obviously knew it was happening, and he didn't stand up for himself! He let it happen!

Drake would never allow it. He was much more humble and gruff than the elder statesman style of Dumbledore, but they could work together when they had to. Dumbledore may have defeated Grindelwald, but Drake had not stepped aside in the Battle of Nurmengard. Ever since, neither could really think anything too bad about the other.

That didn't mean they weren't rivals, they were, for sure. But he felt that you should only get to sneer down at someone, like these scumbag politicians were doing, if you could actually beat them. At anything. Which they couldn't. Not even all of them put together.

Fudge was a piece of work that needed to be taken to town, so when Kate had come to him with this, he'd jumped at the chance. Plus, had some bas-person tried to run a smear campaign against his 15 year old apprentice, well, it wouldn't stand. So he sympathized with Dumbledore there, as much as he tried to deny it, Potter was his protege.

When the session was finally called to order, Fudge, stood. "Greeting delegates to the International Confederation of Wizards, today we have come to listen to a vote of no confidence against Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore. As head delegate to his country, I will serve as surrogate until such time as he has either been confirmed or replaced."

In Drake's opinion, he sounded far too smug. The whole room seemed to be against the Hogwarts Headmaster at the moment, not a good sign. Well, Herr and Dumbledore was a team up not easily beaten in any form. And it was incredibly rare, and therefore intimidating. Time to make his presence known.

He stood, "Minister Fudge" he called. "I, Drakon Herr, have been appointed head American delegate to this council by President Bristol, effective immediately."

This, he was pleased to see, caused quite a stir. It seemed his opinion could sway this, how fun. Even Dumbledore looked momentarily surprised at his announcement. He smirked at the man.

Might as well let him believe he's here to destroy him. Even Fudge seemed to think that was why Dumbledore's rival was here, for his smile was large. "The ICW recognizes Master Herr as the chief American delegate."

He nodded and sat as there was a polite round of applause.

"Now, for the vote of no confidence." Fudge began eagerly. "Albus Dumbledore has served this body well for many, many years. He has done great things for the world, there is no denying it. But, he is also getting on in age, his mind is getting tired and he has several accusations against him in his home country. He has been known to make questionable decisions of late. Hiring known dark creatures" Drake wanted to throttle the self righteous bigot.

"failure to keep an underage student out of a highly dangerous magical competition," That is Fudge's fault too.

"allowing himself to be fooled by someone impersonating one of his best friends," Everyone was fooled, not just him.

"and unfortunately the list goes on. He is known to be a rebel, even at his age, against the authority of his own Ministry of Magic. I think it is high time this body begin to modernize itself, and Albus Dumbledore is not the man to lead that. He is set in his ways, he will not change, he is beginning to show the signs of a tiring mind, and I believe this is for the best." Yeah right. Self serving little…

There was raucous applause and Dumbledore seemed rather resigned to this as he remained seated in his seat, maintaining a certain dignity to him. One Drake could respect and made him rather want to help him. There really was a first time for everything.

"Is there anyone wishing to speak up for the defense?" Fudge asked knowing full well that Dumbledore wasn't allowed to give one himself and nobody would dare to stand against Britain except for…

After a beat of silence, Drake stood. "The United States wishes to give the rebuttal."

This caused a wave of shocked silence as Fudge gaped at him. Drake ignored him as he made his way down to the podium, giving Dumbledore a slight grin as he passed, he got a nod of thanks in return.

He cleared his throat, he had the speech prepared this morning so he pretty much knew it. The rest could be improvised. "Fear is a powerful thing." He began.

"It can cause people to stay silent when they would otherwise speak, it can make someone do something they would never do otherwise. Fear can cause someone to become desperate enough to risk everything to protect their loved ones, it can cause people to ignore the problem to avoid having something bad happen, despite the evidence. Albus Dumbledore has stood strong through things that make others feel fear so strong, they run and pretend all is well. He continues to do so. He always stands up for what is right, not what is easy. He does not let fear stop him from doing what is best, he fights fear, to show others that they do not have to be afraid." This was all directed straight at Fudge, and the whole room knew it.

"He allows himself to be a scapegoat and source of comfort for the people around him. His country depends on him for the good and bad, and he always becomes what they need. Albus leads by both words and example, and this body has made its greatest strides under his leadership. He has always served with integrity and fairness, he continues, even now, to do so, and in turn shapes the future, he does not need to play catch up, for he is already ahead. Some fear that, they fear change, so much that they are willing to run a full blown smear campaign against a 15 year old child and, as much as pains me to say such a thing, the greatest wizard of the age." Might as well spell it out for them.

"Fear drives such actions to the point where they will play such games with a world council that spends its time working on world peace. It is a disgrace to the confederation that such a farce of a vote could be allowed to occur. Albus Dumbledore is trying to stand up against someone so feared, that they do not speak his name. You are not making this any easier on him, with constant slander and attempts at humiliation. He is at his best when he is both a diplomat and a leader, do not allow fear of what one man thinks he can do to you, cloud what another can do for you. I, for one, will not." Drake figured that would be enough and stepped back after a moment. The silence was deafening as he made his way to the Headmaster and conjured a chair next to him.

Suddenly, one by one, people began to clap until the entire room was roaring. Drake grinned to himself, mission accomplished. Fudge was puce and looked furious. Bonus points.

He turned to the stunned older man next to him. "Well, well, if it isn't Albus Dumbledore." Drake snarked sarcastically.

He simply smiled slightly, "Thank you, Drake, for defending my honor on my behalf." He was very sincere.

"Don't flatter yourself, I was simply pointing out the obvious. And a chance to stick one to that pompous arse? Any day." Drake felt obligated to defend his reputation.

"Of course." Dumbledore said lightly, he sounded far too skeptical and patronizing for his liking.

"I mean it, Albus. If someone tried to run this kind of slander against my apprentice, even if she's no longer of that status. I'd be up in arms in a heartbeat. Figured since you are never up in arms, someone should defend the kid."

"Indeed, I am sure Harry will be grateful for your avid defense of myself."

"And him." Drake added. He may only be in his 70s and Dumbledore well over 100, but he wasn't going to let him delude himself.

"And him. It certainly seems like you stopped this in its tracks, so I must thank you again. No child should have to watch his name get dragged through the mud on a national newspaper."

"No, they shouldn't." Drake grunted.

Half an hour later, Dumbledore was confirmed as Supreme Mugwump and an hour later the meeting was broken up.

LATER THAT DAY

Around 4:00 that evening, an owl swooped down through the open window of the smallest bedroom at 4 Privet Drive. The room it entered was completely still. An empty owl cage laid open on the dresser, clothes were strewn about, there was a dirty plate on a desk full of what appeared to be parchment, and a large trunk lay locked at the end of the unmade bed. The bed contained the only sign of life, a motionless body.

The body, of course, was Harry Potter. Messy black hair, green eyes and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The entrance of the owl made the boy stir. He eventually dragged himself up to take a look. He held vain hope that there would be something on Voldemort's return, but he was beginning to give up.

Not even his best friends, Ron and Hermione, or his godfather were giving him anything but "placating" letters telling him to keep his nose clean. Although, by the timing of them, they sounded like they were together, where all the action was. And they weren't telling him anything.

The Evening Prophet displayed a large picture of Albus Dumbledore seated next to Drake Herr with the headline: HERR TAKES PITY ON RIVAL.

This caught his attention. Yesterday, the contact from the Rogues has given him such hope, finally something was being done, finally he would be involved. For he had no doubt, despite him not saying anything, they knew about Voldemort. They were too well connected, to high up, to not. He had hoped to meet with them and escape the Dursleys. His friends said maybe around his birthday he could join them but, somehow, he doubted it.

As he read the article, they made it sound like Drake, whom he'd met several times, had pitied Dumbledore, who was putting up a mask of being senile. He had come in as a representative for the USA and successfully given a defense against Fudge. It had the Rogues written all over it. Cella probably appointed him last night, Kate got him to do it. He'd bet anything it was them.

Finally things were getting done, although he wasn't sure why they needed to defend Dumbledore. He knew they would explain later, they always did. Kate and Jamie always kept their word, they were trustworthy like that.

Sure enough, by 7:00 that night everyone was checked on and confirming there ends of the "plan" were ready. By this point Harry was burning with curiosity. What were they up to?

_Ok, what are we doing guys? Do you have any information for me?_ Harry asked the group at large.

_Where to start?_ Cella asked him in blue. _Jake, Kate and I did some research into the war today._

_Yeah, it was fought by the death eaters and Voldemort on one side and everyone else on the other. Major baddies include Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Barty Crouch Jr, Lucius Malfoy, Augustus Rookwood, and Sirius Black._

_Sirius is innocent! He was framed by Peter Pettigrew, he didn't commit any crimes except breaking out of Azkaban._ Harry defended immediately.

_Ok, we will keep that in mind. And Crouch is dead._ Cella placated.

_On the good side, there was the ministry Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix. The Order was a rumored vigilante group, supposedly run by Dumbledore and his people. I personally think they were real, there is a classified file on them in the Team 6 room. We need to figure out how to join up._ Jake filled in.

Harry's head spun. He tried to think of any indication of an Order run by Dumbledore. The old crowd. Sirius and Snape and the Weasleys. Yes, there was an Order. Professor Lupin, and probably Professor Moody as well.

_Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, the Weasley Family, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid, Madame Maxime, Mundungus Fletcher, Arabella Figg- they're all Order members! Dumbledore recalled all of them._ Harry realized, wait, Ms. Figg, was an Order member?

_Ms. Figg is an Order member!?_ Jamie demanded incredulously.

_She must have been a squib. Or there to spy on Harry._ Cella speculated. _But she never knew about us, that would be bad. Right?_

_I never mentioned you guys._ Harry assured them.

_Aww thanks Harry!_ Kate wrote, he could read the sarcasm.

_Well we need to infiltrate this Order._ Cella told them, Harry could well imagine the serious look on her face, forehead creased slightly as she thought about it. He knew, instinctively, that she meant for the Rogues, not MACUSA.

_I can try. I'm adopted remember? I can claim my spot on the Wizengamot and go to Moody or someone and tell them that I saw their file in the US and wanted to help. I can make it convincing._ Jake volunteered.

Harry remembered that well. They had thought he was a muggleborn who was adopted by another set of muggles only to turn out to be the last heir of the Castillo family in Britain. The ancient pureblood family had supported Voldemort and gotten wiped out. Jake had been crushed when he found out and excited that he wasn't as poor as his adopted family. Then he'd realized the implications and decided not to spend the money. Harry hadn't known about the Magic part, but he had found out the story as they had. He'd even helped them. It had actually been a fun adventure.

_Are you sure you're up to it?_ Jamie asked him, the memories were surely going to be tough, the distrust still present. British magicals were not very accepting of change, this would be difficult.

_Someone has to do it, I'm in the perfect position, plus I know I'm not a bad guy. I just have to be honest. Playing myself isn't very hard._ Jake assured them.

Harry felt as though he should contribute something as the whole reason any of this was happening, was because of him. It made a deep affection for his friends rise in his chest. Nobody had ever gone to such lengths for him, they were always there and willing to do whatever necessary. They loved him, and he loved them, they were his family in a way even the Weasleys, Sirius, Professor Lupin and Professor Dumbledore were never. After all, where had they been when the Dursleys beat him down? When he was bullied relentlessly? Starved? Caged?

But the Rogues has been there, sneaking him food, scaring Dudley away, making his aunt and uncle behave. They had been his friends and family, they never let him down, they never would. They rushed to his aid at the Triwizard tournament, sending him gillyweed, giving him ideas, they had been up in arms when Sirius escaped. They had snuck into the school to collect Norbert from him. They had liberated him from his aunt and uncle and put him on the Knight Bus after his second year. They were always willing to lend a hand and were very good at not being noticed.

So yes, he felt he owed them all. Had he not met them he knew he would have been another Tom Riddle. Jake, Dumbledore is always giving second chances, I'm sure he'll love your help, especially once he finds out what your job is.

_That's true. Anyhow, our plan is simple, be packed by tomorrow at 8:00 am sharp, we will be there to take you to the Ranch. Mum and Dad will be there with everyone but Tiff. I'll warn you now, you are getting counseling with Lily, you watched someone get murdered, you need help to work through it and deal with the nightmares I know you are having._ He could hear Kate's no arguing tone.

Harry indeed wanted to argue, but it was Lily, and the rational part of his brain knew it was for the best. He hated not being able to sleep or eat, he hated how he felt.

_Fine_. He conceded reluctantly. He could at least be excited that he'd get to see the ranch. When they had been younger, Kate and Jamie's only goal in life had been that ranch. They would whisk Harry away and all of them would live there forever, away from Privet Drive and able to do as they pleased. Then they'd gotten the ranch but Harry hadn't been able to even see it, so this was a dream come true. We'll finally be getting to our ranch.

_Yep! And then when the school year comes, we'll we have a few ideas._ Jamie told him. _But nobody will know where you've gone this summer, I'm sorry you won't be able to talk to your friends, but we can keep you up to date on the war._

_What is happening now?_ Harry asked, eager for an update.

_Not much. Voldemort is laying low since the ministry is denying his return and you and Dumbledore have a smear campaign against you. It failed to be international thanks to Drake but it's still strong in your country. Do not worry about it now though. I assume the Order will be trying to get the word out and both sides are preparing for war. Getting contacts, setting up bases, organizing fighters and making battle plans._ Jake told him. When I join the Order, I'll be able to give more complete reports I suspect.

Harry was part relieved that nothing bad had happened, part angry about the ministry and part frustrated that nothing was happening. But predominantly, he was happy that, finally he was getting answers. The Rogues were doing something at least and they were going to include him. They didn't look at him like some little kid who couldn't tie his shoes. No, they saw him as an equal, a partner and wizard who could and would contribute. And he was even more grateful for them.

_Ok, I'll see you guys tomorrow._ Harry confirmed excitement filling him at the prospect of leaving Privet Drive.

After several good byes and good lucks, Harry shut his journal and tapped the emerald on the front. Speaking the password, "Gone Rogue", he watched as it transformed into his newly repaired watch and then put it on his wrist.

He tossed the newspaper onto his desk and headed towards the wardrobe. He had some packing to do.


	3. Chapter 3: The Escort

Chapter 3: The Escort

7:54 THE NEXT MORNING

It was 7:54 in the morning and already nearing 26°C (78°F) when a black SUV turned the corner. It pulled the attention of all the nosy neighbors already up that morning and preparing for work that Friday. They all crowded around the window and watched as it rolled to a stop in front of Number 4. The car was a rare Rolls Royce SUV and solid black. In fact, the only color on it at all, was the silver of the front grill, the tire rims and the company emblem on the hood. The license plate was a standard government exempt plate that declared it an official vehicle.

After but a moment, two men stepped out, one from the passenger side and the other from the driver's. Both were dressed in impeccable business suits with long black trench coats and black sunglasses. They looked rather intimidating with neutral expressions and standard features, nothing but their hulking size stood out.

They did not pay their gallery any heed as they marched up the walk, stopping once only about halfway and nodding to seemingly mid air. They then continued to the door and rang the bell. A moment later, a tall horse faced women answered, Mrs. Dursley, the neighbors knew.

They exchanged but a few words before they were shunted into the house and the door slammed behind them.

At exactly 8:00 am, Harry heard the doorbell ring he strained his ears to listen to what was happening below but was disappointed to find he could not hear a word. At first he had been surprised to see the SUV, then horribly amused. The Dursleys would have a fun time trying to explain this away. His friends were the best.

A moment later, a strangled shriek was heard across the house and most likely outside. The bush even rustled, as if alarmed.

"Boy! The bobbies are here for you!" His uncle roared, sounding enraged. Harry winced slightly, he would be furious.

He grabbed his stuff and ran down the stairs, eager to try to figure out who had been drafted to pick him up like this. Taking them two at a time and carefully making sure his trunk didn't get dented as it thunked against every step. He finally found his way into the living room where each man stood at attention while his aunt fettered nervously and Uncle Vernon watched them with a furious glare.

Harry recognized them immediately, Mr. Smith and Mr. Ross, whom he called Dad (and his wife Mum). Both men, the dads of Frankie and Kate and Jamie respectively, were muggles (though Smith had married a witch), but held sticks suspiciously similar to wands in their hands. They each slipped them into their sleeves when Harry entered and they broke into smiles.

"There, he's here, now get out of my house!" Uncle Vernon spat.

Dad sneered slightly, "Yes, indeed, he is here. He may return next year and if he does, you will treat him properly, contrary to what you have done up to this point."

Uncle Vernon swelled in indignation. "You-you"

Mr. Smith drew his "wand" and twirled it idly. Uncle Vernon paled and stopped speaking at once. "We are here to escort Mr. Potter to a new home for the remainder of the summer. You will tell no one of our presence or you will…suffer the consequences."

"Come along, Harry." Dad nodded to him. He grinned slightly and followed the man.

They lead him to the car and Mr. Smith opened the back door for him while Dad put his stuff in the back. He couldn't get in fast enough and he settled into the back comfortably. He grinned when he saw the cooler next to him with a note stuck to the top with his name on it. He opened it eagerly and was pleased to see a bottle of butter beer and several slices of treacle tart.

He dug in as they began to drive and after they exited they got onto a major street he asked the questions he'd been dying to know. "Dad? Why did you pick me up? I mean I'm happy to see you and Mr. Smith but-?"

He could see the man's smile in the rear view mirror. "Kate was worried the wards might somehow block or sense a magical presence and alert the wrong people, so we were sent instead so it couldn't happen."

That made sense. "Oh, that makes sense. And the Dursleys had no idea you guys were muggles huh?"

Mr. Smith chuckled, "Not a clue, didn't even recognize John."

Harry grinned as he realized that was indeed true. "How are we going to get to the ranch? Where is it?"

"Montana, like you guys always wanted. And this car will portkey us to Herr's house once we reach somewhere private. He'll check you down for tracking devices and do something to your wand, then you and I will floo to the main house." Dad explained.

"Unfortunately, my adventure will end there and I am going back to Florida." Mr. Smith added.

Harry nodded, it made sense. Nobody would be able to follow them. A few minutes later they pulled into a side ally and the car disappeared in a flash of blue. Harry's knuckles turned white as he gripped the seat, fighting the flashbacks he got to the third task.

No, he was safe, they were taking him to the ranch. Drake would be on the other side, in his house. Not Voldemort and the graveyard.

Thankfully it was over in a matter of seconds and both men looked a little green. Harry felt like he was going to be sick for a totally different reason, Cedric. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a big breath. He heard both men get out and the boot of the car was opened a moment later.

Screwing up his courage he got out and took a look around. The street was just as he remembered, the houses were evenly spaced and clearly muggle. Unlike Privet Drive, the Pennsylvania suburb had different styles and the house he was looking for was a two story home blue-grey walls with white window frames, doors and a patio. The lawn held no shrubs but well manicured green grass straight up the brick layer of the home. Drake, a dark skinned man with buzz cut black hair (peppered with grey) and short facial hair dominating his chin and cheeks, was walking down the path. His startling violet eyes glimmered in amusement as he pulled to a stop at the curb.

He waved his wand and instantly, both of Harry's escorts took their normal appearance. Dad had light brown hair, blue eyes to give Dumbledore a run for his money, and stood at 6'1. He was wearing his normal (like Dumbledore), bright colored golfing attire. Mr. Smith was a rather short man, at 5 feet 6 inches, he had black hair and dark brown eyes with olive skin and a distinctly foreign look to him. He was wearing slightly faded jeans and a collared shirt with a brown jacket.

"There you go, if you guys would bring the stuff inside and put it in the middle of the circle I set up, I'll fix the car up." He told them. Both nodded and with smiles towards Harry, they walked inside.

Drake then waved his wand at the car which glowed blue for a moment and then white before rearranging itself into a small white Lexus. Harry looked around in wonder at how no nobody seemed to notice. Drake grinned at his expression.

"Notice me not charms, kid. Works well enough and the neighbors are used to weird shit from me anyhow." His accent was distinctly American and his voice gruff.

"How are you Drake?" Harry asked him politely. Sarcasm and dry humor were best with Drake but politeness was a passable second.

"Can't complain, how bout you?" He returned.

"I will be fine." Harry answered truthfully.

Drake looked serious for a moment. "I heard about it, it wasn't your fault, no matter what you want to tell yourself."

Harry swallowed thickly and nodded in slight acceptance. Drake didn't always act like it, but he could be as perceptive as Dumbledore. "Thanks."

He nodded curtly. "Now let's talk about you dragging me into war like this…"

Harry shot him an annoyed look, knowing he was joking, "I don't follow-?"

"Well, Kate's gonna help you, her friends are as well, we all know they won't stand by while Voldemort comes after you. And I, being a responsible adult, will not allow my insane former apprentice to charge headlong into danger without experienced backup." He drawled.

"Kate can take care of herself, they all can." Harry pointed out.

Drake sighed as if he was exceptionally dim, "Probably, but even the knowledge that she could and would beat Voldemort in open combat doesn't reassure me. She's like my daughter Harry, I don't have kids and my wife's been dead for a few years, but she always loved Kate and your little gang. She wouldn't let anything happen to them, and she wouldn't let me let anything bad happen to 'em either."

"I can try to tell them to stay out of it, I can talk them down." Harry said eagerly. Honestly he didn't want them to be put in danger either.

Drake set off towards the house. "No you can't." He said flatly. "Even if you guys weren't friends, too many of that group can't help but want to play the hero. They don't necessarily want the recognition, but, you know what it's like. After all you picked that up from them, from what I can tell."

Harry had to admit that that was true. His love of adventures and disregard for the rules was also picked up from the Rogues. "It's not a bad thing, though, doing the right thing. Someone needs to." Harry pointed out defensively.

"That is true." Drake conceded. He paused for a second, "You are close to Dumbledore are you not?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer and then stopped, was he close to Dumbledore? He certainly like the man, saw him as a bit of a grandfather figure, and trusted him. But he also hadn't told him anything this summer, and he deserved to know. They didn't really talk to each other all that often but when they did meet it was always pleasant and they were warmer to each other than most of the other students. Dumbledore was on of his confidants and he treated him, according to Hermione (who was always right), like a favored grandson. "Yeah, but we don't have conversations more than three times a year, if that."

Drake nodded, "He speaks highly of you."

Harry was momentarily surprised. "What?" He asked blankly.

"Oh yes, I do know him pretty well, and I introduced him to Kate a time or two, but you are rather famous, even outside of Britain. When people ask, he always give you strong praise." Drake supplied.

They had reached the door by this point and Drake paused again and said "Tell Kate to teach you Occlumency. It will help you."

Then, without giving him a chance to answer, he opened the door to find both Smith and Ross seated on a couch in a quiet discussion. Behind them was a large circle of what looked like tunes done in black dust with his trunk and empty owl cage in the middle. He had sent Hedwig ahead of him and told her to take her time.

"Right, the ritual." Drake muttered, then louder he said, "Harry, go stand by John and Mike and don't get any closer. You guys might want to shut your eyes, this'll be bright."

Harry nodded and wordlessly joined the men, who had stopped talking, and closed his eyes as suggested. He heard chanting as a wind began to pick up out of nowhere and the room thrummed with power.

"Perdere subscriptorum animadvertebant, et mundaret oblata inventa virtutem in nomine meo!" Drake thundered.

Harry felt his hair stand on end as he felt, for the first time, the full scope of Drake's power. He had seen Voldemort's powers in full at the graveyard and Dumbledore's in Moody's office, and he could say with certainty that Drake lacked nothing in comparison. They were all about equal and it made him feel insignificant against beings like them. He could hardly connect them with their power for it didn't seem possible, the inhuman strength.

Suddenly everything froze and silence took over before a glowing purple shot through the room and then suddenly, the magic faded. The ritual was over and the runes gone, everything looked perfectly normal and his trunk and cage were sitting harmlessly in the middle of the room.

"You can open your eyes." Drake called to them, sounding perfectly normal despite the amount of magic he'd just exerted. A true testament to his strength as a wizard.

Three pairs of eyes fluttered open and Harry turned slightly to face the older wizard. "Is it good?" He asked.

"Yep, no trackers or anything else on your stuff, you all can go."

Mr. Smith was the first to depart with a cheerful well wish and a puff of green flame. Dad went next after shaking Drake's hand and dragging Harry's trunk with him. Finally it was simply Harry and Drake.

"Well, good luck, and I'm sure I'll see you soon. Don't forget the Occlumency thing and don't let yourself get too overrun by women." Drake told him with a slight grin.

"I'll try." Harry promised, "It was nice to see you." He waved before grabbing Hedwig's cage and a handful of floo powder. Following Dad's example, he tossed it in and exclaimed, "Ross Ranch!"

He toppled out of a fireplace not a minute later. Brushing himself off and ignoring the laughter, he looked around. He had landed in a sitting room, coming out a stone fireplace. The whole room was made from polished logs and had a decidedly cabin flare to it.

The rug that had absorbed his fall was some kind of animal fur and there was a large set of antlers above the mantle. There were three massive windows across from him showing a large field with a river and a dirt road wrapping around it. In the distance he could spot a large barn and a small cabin, with a wooded area off to the far left. More domestically, the couches and chairs were worn brown leather and the table, wood. The ceiling was high and vaulted with a set of stairs in the corner going up to a second floor with rails all around in a square, making the balcony of the second story one you could hang over. The entire place was clearly a log cabin, if a mansion of a log cabin.

He grinned, he couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect place. He turned to the people occupying the seating and his grin turned into a beaming smile. The Yule Ball had been months ago, and he'd missed his family.

"Hey guys!" He chirped.

Kate and Jamie shot up first and encompassed him in a tight hug each, telling him how happy they were to see him before stepping back to allow Cella, Frankie, Lily, Kenna and Tiff to do the same thing. Jake came last and gave him a brotherly side arm hug and also told him it was nice to see him.

Harry turned to the Ross parents who were smiling at the scene from the doorway into what was clearly the rest of the house. "Hi Mum!"

Mrs. Ross, a short Chinese woman with black hair and brown eyes smiled at him warmly, "Welcome home, Harry." She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back warmly, she was not as suffocating as Mrs. Weasley and more like what he imagined his own mother would be like.

Dad simply smiled at him and ruffled his hair once his wife had pulled away. "We'll leave you kids to your fun, remember not everyone here is at a legal age." He added this sternly, but Kate and Jamie simply rolled their eyes.

"Bye Dad!" Kate exclaimed loudly, to the smirks of the rest of the group.

He simply shook his head and followed his wife out of sight and presumably to their own cabin, for that was what the dream had been.

"Let's get this party started! Everyone has until Monday free…" Lily said, ever the cheerful, fun-lover.


	4. Chapter 4: The House of Castillo

Chapter 4: The Ancient and Noble House of Castillo

THE FOLLOWING MONDAY

The weekend had been one of the best Harry could ever remember having. They had spent the few hours until lunch the morning he arrived giving him a tour of the house and showing him his room (next to Kate and Jamie, and across from Frankie and Lily). Over lunch they had decided what they wanted to do and spent the afternoon playing water quodpot. It was quodpot only instead of blowing up, the ball was a massive water balloon that would pop at random moments. It was incredibly fun and everyone was completely drenched by the third game. They hadn't even walked home, instead flying their brooms the half mile between the main house and the Quidditch/quadpot pitch. It would have been freezing if not for the heat of the day and the warm breeze.

That night's dinner had consisted of a lot of pizza and the Star Wars trilogy, they had started A New Hope at 5:00 pm sharp, ordered pizza and not left until just before 1:30 am, due to unforeseen pillow fights which had then turned to a mini dueling competition. It was then that Harry was informed that the Trace doesn't work in other countries.

While some had slept in, Tiffany, Jamie, and Harry (time change) had woken early and made a full American breakfast with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns, pancakes and waffles. The group of nine hadn't had as much trouble as a normal group would have had navigating it. Harry had always said they were Weasleys 2.0.

After breakfast, or more like brunch, the group had gotten dressed and taken some four wheelers down to the barn and mounted horses. Jamie had been delighted to lead the group around the ranch and let everyone split off and explore until mid afternoon. They had gotten back, showered, and thrown on a large BBQ of hotdogs and hamburgers with chips and fries, listening to the radio and then having a little campfire. Around 10:00 they mounted a different set of horses (the ranch had 27) to have a late night ride. Saturday night had ended earlier than Friday by a total of two hours when it was all said and done.

Sunday had been a cereal breakfast rather early followed by a raucous 4v4 (Cella was ref) Quidditch game with a keeper, two chasers and a beater. Lunch had been a little picnic with sandwiches after they had returned home after to change into swim gear. After that, they had all piled into kayaks and gone down the river before getting out and doing some rock climbing and fishing. That night they had a large steak dinner that had, predictably, ended with a food fight and a comedy about American baseball, Major Leagues, if Harry remembered correctly.

It had been perfect, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. This, of course, meant a return to work for most of the Rogues. Only Frankie, Kate, and Lily (who had taken three weeks off) remained with Harry. Kenna would be back by Wednesday and able to spend all but a few hours with them and Jamie's team was out of the playoffs and the season would be over in the next two weeks. Cella wouldn't, as minister, have much time to herself, and neither would Tiff as restaurant owner, but Jake's mission was set to conclude by the end of the week and he would be on leave for a mandatory three months after 18 months of active duty.

It was over a simple breakfast of eggs and toast that they discussed the schedule and Harry informed Kate about Occlumency.

She slapped herself on the forehead as soon as he said it. "Duh! Of course! Well then, Harry, you are going to have daily sessions with Lily from 9 to whenever she feels like you need to stop and then I can teach you Occlumency from 3-5 every afternoon." She said amiably. "Frankie can help you with your school work as well. Is there anything else?"

Normally, Harry would have bemoaned the fact that he was doing all of this work during the summer, but he knew he needed it.

Both Frankie and Lily nodded in agreement but looked to Harry.

He thought for a moment and then realized he would need help with one other thing. "Kate, I don't know how to duel, and Voldemort used that to try and embarrass me in the graveyard." He admitted.

Kate stared at him consideringly. He had never seen her so serious and hesitant in helping him. He shifted, suddenly aware that she was eight years older than him.

"You are one of my best friends, and I want you to come out of this war alive." She said seriously, she looked more like one of the most powerful witches alive, and not like his pseudo sister. "So if we do this, I will not hesitate to run you into the ground daily, it will not be easy for you and I won't coddle you or tolerate laziness. You have no experience in dueling other than running around like an inexperienced buffoon, surviving on nothing more than luck and Voldemort's ineptitude."

Harry stared at her, part indignant, part acknowledging the truth of her words, and part curious about her comment on the most vicious Dark Lord of all time.

"Voldemort's ineptitude?" He echoed, finally deciding on that path.

"He has decent skill as a duellist, good form and such, but he if he could not use the unforgivables, he would be fairly easy for the top duellists to beat. His whole strength is his reputation and the fact that you can't block most of the spells he sends at you and if you are hit, you are dead. He overpowers his normal spells so most cannot block them. In a duel that is solely on skill, he would not beat most professional duellists. Dumbledore used to be a great duellist but his reaction times are slower with age and he rarely uses lethal spells, so Voldemort can bring up shields and is more likely to hit him than the other way around. Lucky for Dumbledore, he is a transfiguration Master amongst other things and transfiguration is the only practical way to counter unforgivables." She lectured simply.

Harry made sure to commit that entire speech to memory so he could go over it later. He had another question as he played it through in his mind.

"But your dueling style involves a lot of dodging and Transfiguration blocks, right? And your reaction time is one of the fastest in the world, plus you have more power than Voldemort, so you can overpower everything for hours and not get tired! You could put more in the shield than he could in the curse!" Harry realized something, something he'd been told indirectly, "You could be Voldemort in a duel." He accused.

Kate smiled wanly, "A lot of people could, potentially and in theory, but I'm not exactly going to be looking to test that."

Harry knew he was probably going to regret this for the rest of the summer, but it was what needed to happen. Voldemort wasn't going to leave him alone until he was dead. And he couldn't take that lying down. He had no choice. "I want you to teach me to do duel. I don't care, I need to be able to fight Voldemort."

She sighed, "I may have underplayed Voldemort's skill, he is not as good as I or Drake, or even Dumbledore, but he's such a dirty dueller that it evens it out a lot. You could spend every hour for the rest of the summer learning to duel and I still wouldn't put money on you beating Voldemort skill wise. You do understand that?"

Harry nodded, "But I need to start, there's no point in getting beat up by death eaters and I don't need to beat him" yet "but I need to be able to hold him off."

She nodded, "Then I want you to spend the rest of the day looking up and getting a good grasp of Occlumency. Then spend the rest of the week going through every spell you have ever learned and make sure you can do all of them as fast as possible, try to think of how they can be used in a duel."

Harry nodded affirmative. "Yes, ma'am."

"Now I believe eet es my turn with ze patient?" Lily joked in a horrible French accent.

THAT FRIDAY

Jake Castillo was pleased that his mission had concluded so quickly yesterday and left him with a chance to begin the Rogues' plan. The Wizengamot even had a meeting scheduled for 2 o'clock that afternoon. Thus, he wore a smile as he ascended the marble steps of Gringotts London.

Entering, he quickly made his way to the nearest teller and began to speak to them in gobbledygook. As part of his job, he'd had to learn mermish, gobbledygook, giantenese and even understand parseltongue, amongst other, mundane languages he had learned.

He knew Kate knew a few herself courtesy of Drake, and Cella a few more for her job. Tiff spoke Spanish, mandarin and Japanese for her restaurant, and Lily spoke several for her own research. Even Frankie knew at least three languages because of her job. Jamie knew enough to pass in every country and was fluent in the more common ones, like Spanish, for example. Kenna's job even required her to know more than just English. It served them well because they could all talk to each other in other languages and thus, in private.

"Excuse me, Master Goblin, I am here to claim an inactive account. Where may I do that?" It was best to be polite where the goblins were concerned. They were like easily-offended miniature Drakes.

The teller look surprised at the perfect pronunciation, even Dumbledore had a slight accent. "Right this way, sir."

Jake grinned internally, might as well have them like you. He was lead down a side hall to a door that had the name Sharpclaw scripted into it above inheritance office.

He nodded in thanks to the teller and knocked on the door, a moment later, he was told to enter. The room was a standard sized office and decorated with goblin battle equipment intermixed with shelves of books and paperwork. A great combination in his opinion. It must have showed on his face.

"Like my office do you?" He sounded neither amused nor annoyed, simply curious.

"It is an unusual combination, I like it." Jake answered.

The goblin had a look of momentary surprise on his face that he wouldn't have caught without his Team Six training. "What is it you are here to see me about?"

"I wish to have an inheritance test done, I am adopted and have recently been made aware of a potential pureblood background. I would like to know if there was any credibility." Jake said honestly. It was pretty much the truth.

"Very well, Grindhorn!" The goblin called, a moment later another goblin entered and they conversed quietly for a moment before the new entrance left Jake and Sharpclaw to themselves.

Grindhorn returned a few minutes later with a small stone basin, not to far from a pensieve in looks, and a silver dagger with parchment. He left them shortly after.

"Simply place the parchment into the basin flatly and cut your finger and allow four drops of blood to fall on the parchment." Sharpclaw supplied.

Jake did not hesitate to do just that. He assured himself that this was all a formality to quash any sudden doubts.

Sure enough, after the moment it took him to heal his cut, there was a full filled piece of parchment where the blank one had sat. It read:

Jacob Castillo

Current Age: 21 years

DoB: Oct. 18, 1973

Father: Theodorus Castillo

Mother: Cassandra Castillo nee Black

Blood: Pure

Adopted Blood: Muggleborn

Titles: Heir Apparent of Ancient and Noble House of Castillo, Unclaimed Wizengamot Lord Seat

Vaults: 835- Heir Apparent Trust, 971- Personal Inheritance, 079- Ancient and Most Noble House of Castillo

Contents: 835- G100,000, 971- G65,780, 079- G43,340,751

Nothing surprising there, he would never need to work a day in his again (fat chance, he loved his job), he was heir to a Wizengamot seat, and had a full circle dark family most likely. Oh well.

"Is there a Lordship ring?" He asked Sharpclaw with completely unfeigned nonchalance.

2:00 THAT AFTERNOON

The British Ministry of Magic, Jake decided, was far too caught up in its own delusions of grandeur to notice that it was but average in the world. Even MACUSA was more grand, and US citizens were notorious for despising the government. Speaking of which, apparently being a lord of an ancient house granted you automatic citizenship to Britain. That could be a problem with the Aurors, but Cella could sort it out. Probably.

The Wizengamot chamber they were using today was a large room rather similar to the senate building of Star Wars, Jake thought. Only not as big and the balconies could float around, one would simply make their way to the podium in the middle if they had something to say. Also, this was mostly made of gray stone.

He figured he'd announce his presence at the beginning of the meeting. This way it would be shortened so the others could go home and factor him into their political games for next time.

He took stock of the people around him, trying to place them on a side of the war and potentially acquaint himself with some Order members. Malfoy, Nott, and Parkinson sitting together, the death eaters, Fudge, a Toad woman who he didn't know, and someone who looked like Harry's description of a Weasley, the ministry group. Hawkwork, Stokke and Yaxley, two neutrals and a death eater. Avery, Crabbe and Goyle, a bunch of death eaters. Diggory, Fawley, Blishwick, and Smith, were maybes. Greengrass and Rowle, no and doubtful. Longbottom and Bones could probably help but he couldn't see them joining a vigilante group. And Marchbanks, Ogden, Doge and… Dumbledore? What was he doing-? No matter. That was who he needed to meet.

Dumbledore. Of course his family was an old pureblood family, it would make sense that he'd have a seat as head of his family. Fudge couldn't take that away. He quickly ran over his plan in his head and then tightened his Occlumency barriers before quietly sneaking out the door. He left the chamber all together before entering next to his targets and pretended to be slightly lost as he approached them.

"Hello." He interrupted them politely. "I am, well, new to this and I was wondering where I am supposed to go?" He asked, ignoring the part of him that felt like an idiot. It was part of a hybrid mission, that was all. He needed to infiltrate the Order of the Phoenix. He fingered his family ring awkwardly.

Thankfully, before the silence could become awkward between them, Dumbledore spoke, "In that case, welcome to the Wizengamot. I am Albus Dumbledore, Head of House Dumbledore."

"Ancient and Most Noble House of Dumbledore." The woman, Marchbanks muttered under her breath.

Dumbledore seemed to want to roll his eyes, "The Ancient and Most Noble House of Dumbledore." He added unnecessarily and offered his hand.

Jake felt his lips twitch and allowed them to quirk, might as well seem personable and genuine. He allowed the mirth to fill him, knowing his eyes would shine in amusement. "Jake Castillo, Head of House Castillo." He introduced himself.

He shook the man's hand firmly and enjoyed the look of shock on their faces.

"I was unaware the Castillo family had any living descendants." Ogden said suspiciously.

"I don't believe we are acquainted?" He held out his hand, "Jake Castillo, Head of House Castillo" he repeated for formality's sake.

"Tiberius Ogden, Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Ogden." They shook hands briefly.

"I was adopted by American muggles when I was born." Jake figured the truth was the best when trying to pull wool over Dumbledore's eyes.

"How did you find out about your heritage?" Marchbanks asked him, then belatedly, "Griselda Marchbanks, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Gryffindor."

Jake was momentarily speechless, but that passed on a few seconds as he brushed his lips over her knuckles with a polite bow. "Pleasure, Lady Gryffindor. Jake Castillo."

"I discovered my family history thanks to a friend of mine who is interested in wizarding history. She mentioned something about a Lord Castillo and we wondered if there was any relation, as I was adopted by a family with the last name of Peters. I never took the last name despite them being my family. I wanted the tie to my parents." This was also completely true, Cella was nerd in general though.

"And you have rushed to claim your seat now that you know?" Ogden pressed.

Now came the half truths. "Not exactly. When I first found out, I was too young to do anything about it and I had read about my parents and I couldn't say I was particularly proud to be related. Still can't actually, but it kind of drifted to the back of my mind, and when I graduated, Ilvermorny by the way, it wasn't really a thought for me, so I joined the Aurors."

"Eliphas Doge, Ancient House of Doge, isn't this a conflict of interest then?" Doge asked him with curious look and his hand held out.

"Jake Castillo, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Castillo." He shook the proffered hand. "And not for this end. My citizenship automatically changed when I claimed my title."

"I see." Dumbledore mummered, looking at him speculatively, "Why claim your title now?"

Jake shrugged, "I took a look at the news and thought the action was here." He alluded to the situation with Voldemort and convey his message in a way they'd all get it.

"Ah, come to see if I am going senile?" Dumbledore joked.

"Maybe, although, as high ranking in the Aurors as I am, I could find out quite a bit about you and everyone around you in a few different files." He hoped Dumbledore got the hint. He did.

His face suddenly changed and the others around him became rather stiff themselves. "A file in the American Auror department?"

"Well, certain teams have access to very classified documents, of which even more specific people can move or up the classification on." Jake assured him.

"Six" Doge breathed in comprehension. Jake dipped his head slightly.

"Why are you telling us this?" Ogden asked him, again looking suspicious.

Dumbledore was fingering his wand and Jake figured now was a good time as any to be frank.

"I believe you, not Fudge, most of America does actually, and I feel a responsibility of sorts, both because of what my parents did and because of my status in this country, to help. I have already gotten rid of the O.P. file in the team files and moved the classification so only the president can read it. Bristol, as you may have noticed, is sympathetic and has waved the conflict of interests. She will not pry nor would she ask me to give up British secrets. She could not get them even if she did ask." He laid out the story simply. Because of its complexity and unlikeliness it was quite believable. Especially because it explained several actions perfectly.

"So you are here on the President's orders?" Marchbanks clarified.

Technically, he was here on Kate and Cella's orders, but well, he wasn't about to tell them that. "Er, no." He hedged. "She simply doesn't care that I am heir to a Wizengamot family, but she doesn't know that I am going to claim my title, or that I plan to join the war here." He hoped he sounded believably sheepish.

If the slight smile Dumbledore sported was anything to go by, he did. "I see. And have you decided which faction you will join?"

"I don't have many options, I am trying to fight the death eaters, and the ministry in more useless than Bristol without her coffee." Jake pointed out, remembering the one time Cella had been denied her morning coffee, she had fired 6 secretaries that morning and gone through exactly three papers the whole day.

"After the meeting, accompany me back to Hogwarts for a drink, I believe I can help you there." Dumbledore offered.

Jake fought the urge to grin. "Sure."


	5. Chapter 5: The Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 5: The Order of the Phoenix

THE FOLLOWING NIGHT

Jake had decided it was best to stay in Britain, so, after departing from Hogwarts, he had gone to his family home and fixed it up a little. He didn't bother to take a look around as he knew he would be moving in with Jamie at the ranch shortly. But that wasn't his main concern either way.

Hogwarts. It was a sight to behold, it rivaled Ilvermorny in beauty, he had to admit. After the rather short, according to Dumbledore, Wizengamot meeting he had side along apparated with the Headmaster and they had made the trek to his office in comfortable silence. Dumbledore had thoroughly interrogated him and even done a legilimency check to make sure he wasn't hiding anything.

It took careful effort on his part to hide any evidence of him knowing any of the Rogues, including Harry and Drake. He exchanged Kenna, Tiff and Jamie for three random people from his grade and made sure Kate, Cella, Lily and Frankie didn't even come up in his memories. The only ones he let show of Jamie was a few quidditch team practices where they didn't interact. He also completely scraped anything to do with Britain and inserted his story in their place. It seemed like a lot, but he'd had to do this before so it was with practiced ease he concealed it all.

He could tell Dumbledore knew he was hiding something but he still let him take the oath and told him the location of headquarters. He had been given a Phoenix pendant for communication and informed of the next meeting. Which he was at now.

He entered Number 12 Grimmauld Place in London and was immediately greeted with one of the most dark and dirty halls he'd ever seen. He quirked an eyebrow as he made his way down the hall. There were quite a few people milling about and they all seemed to look up and stare at him.

"He must be new-"

"Wonder who found him…"

"I heard Dumbledore himself recruited-"

And so on. He held his head high and glided by all of them. He paused by the staircase as he heard a group a kids arguing with a rather plump redhead lady. There were three boys and two girls.

One boy had blue eyes, red hair, a lot of freckles and gangly limbs. He recognized him instantly from Harry's pictures as Ron Weasley. He quickly masked his surprise and realized he was staring and they had stopped talking. The bushy brown haired girl and odd one out had to be Hermione Granger. The short and stocky identical boys were Fred and George Weasley and the girl with flaming red hair should be Ginny.

"Hello, this is my first meeting and I was wondering where I should go?" He asked them.

The kids all stared at him but, thankfully, the elder women, clearly the redheads' mother, answered him.

"Oh! You must be Lord Castillo! It an honor to meet you, I'm Molly Weasley, and this lot are my three sons, Fred, George, and Ron, my daughter Ginny and their friend Hermione Granger." She introduced.

"Pleasure." He said with a genuine smile and offered his hand, which she took. "But please, just call me Jake, all of you." He did not want to be called Lord Castillo wherever he went, Jamie would never let him live it down.

"So, are you guys in the Order?" He asked the kids. This was something he knew Harry would want to know as they were clearly in HQ.

"No, no!" Molly exclaimed contrary to their hopeful looks. "They are far too young!"

"But we are of age!" Fred or George argued, "And we want to help."

"And we've done so much, we should get a chance! Look what keeping Harry in the dark got you!" Ron argued, continuing what they had been arguing about.

All six of them froze for a moment and Molly looked ready to burst into tears. "First Percy and then, then Harry, oh the poor dear…" she sniffed, "I hope he is alright."

"What's wrong with, uh, Harry?" Hermione and Ron both looked stricken as he played dumb for them.

Hermione looked very defensive as she explained. "Harry Potter, is our best friend and he's gone missing. A few days ago, Tonks, who was apparently guarding him, came back in a panic and told us two men had taken him from his house and now nobody can find him!"

"Harry Potter?" He echoed, "Isn't he the one who-?" They all gave him angry looks so he skipped that and went to the next part. "He's been kidnapped?"

They nodded, but Ginny spoke this time. "Well nobody really knows if he was kidnapped or if he went willingly, and we don't know if the people he went with were bad guys. We aren't even sure if they are muggles or not."

"For a non-member, you are very informed, I was under the impression the paper hadn't even mentioned it. Then again, I only just moved back to Britain yesterday." Jake fished for information.

"This is the only thing they are allowed to know about, and that is simply because they are needed for information and he is their friend." Molly cut in sharply, shooting him a meaningful look.

So, don't tell the kids what's happening. Noted. "Oh… I would want to know if this was my best friend, too."

Molly shooed the kids away and led him into the kitchen where at least 40 people were hanging around talking to each other. Jake decided to introduce himself to some people as ended up being engaged in a lively discussion with a Dedalus Diggle until the meeting began.

At exactly 10:00 pm Albus Dumbledore stepped into the room and all conversation ceased. He was dressed in purple robes with silver stars twinkling brightly, but he himself was looking rather ragged.

"Good evening everyone." He called to the room at large. He got a few good evenings in return but otherwise is was pretty quiet as people pulled up chairs.

"I think our first thing on the agenda is the welcoming of a new member to our number, Jake if you could stand,"

Jake stood and smiled slightly at everyone.

"This is Jake Castillo, the Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Castillo." There was scattered applause, but most of the room broke out into whispers.

Finally someone voiced what they were all thinking, "Castillo? Aren't you a lot of death eaters?"

Jake turned to see a gaunt black haired man staring at him with distrust. "My parents were death eaters, yes, but I was abandoned in the States when I was a few months old and adopted by muggles. I thought I was just an adopted muggleborn, maybe half blood. The only reason I knew my real name was because there was a card with it in my blanket. I didn't find out about my biological parents until I was 15."

That shut everyone up. "Oh. So your not a-" the youngish man followed up with.

"A pureblood bigot with delusions of grandeur?" Jake finished, "No."

The man grinned at him, "In that case, I'm Sirius Black, pleasure to meet a fellow family disgrace." He caught a greasy black haired man with a pale face and all black clothing sneering out the corner of his eye but paid him no heed.

Jake chuckled lowly at that, "Indeed." This seemed to break the ice for the rest of the Order and it took Dumbledore a minute to call them to attention again.

"Can we hear our death eater reports, Severus?" Dumbledore asked the greasy haired man.

Wait a minute. Severus, greasy hair, pale face, bat-like appearance. Snape?

"The Dark Lord is scrambling who he can to find Potter before us, but as he is still under manned, that is not many people. The prophecy has taken a back seat to more immediate issues, mainly the lack of Death Eaters, and Potter. He is planning to break some people out of Azkaban because all of his current servants, bar Pettigrew have public appearances to keep up. There is not much he can do in the meantime." Snape said in a calm baritone that made him seem like he was mocking you.

"Very well, how about those of us tailing death eaters?" Dumbledore asked.

The meeting went on in this vein for some time as they listened to reports on the ministry and death eaters with people occasionally adding their own two cents. The only thing Jake really learned was who exactly they were following and that there was some sort of prophecy that could lead to the defeat of Voldemort and he was trying to steal it. The Order was guarding it and Jake decided to volunteer to help as he was experienced, genuinely wanting to help them, and in need of more information. He had a bad feeling Harry would end up being involved somehow. He always was.

"Are you sure we should be allowing a half cocked newbie, who is in his second day of being British, to guard something so important?" Jake instantly recognized the Auror legend Mad-Eye Moody.

Jake respected the man above most and he knew he would reciprocate when he found out what exactly his job was. "With all due respect Moody," Jake began purposely not adding 'auror', "I am not some 'half cocked newbie' as you so kindly put it."

"Oh?" Moody scoffed, "Think you know what it takes to fight a war do you? Think you understand what it means to take a life?"

Jake suspected this was the man's way of testing him. "I am quite sure I do know what it means to do both. They would not let you leave the academy otherwise, much less make you a Team Six Auror Captain."

There were exclamations of shock and gasps around the room at that as Moody seemed to evaluate him. "No, I suppose not, but that's a lofty claim there kid. Not the least of which you aren't supposed to say anything about anyway."

Jake shrugged, "I trust everyone here can keep their mouths shut, and if you'd like to find out for yourself, I'm sure I could throw something together to prove it."

Dumbledore choose that moment to interrupt. "Alastor, Jake has given me plenty of evidence to back up his claim and done the Order a large service in doing so."

Not in the least of which was the Team Six Aurors file on the Order. He had, of course, left a copy as Top Secret instead of Confidential (the middle being Secret). It had some very valuable information in it, lists of members, safe house, headquarters, missions, deaths, assets, everything. Clearly someone had managed to find a hole in the Order during the first war. That person was irrelevant now because they were dead, but still. At least the Americans were the only one with all of that information (they had been able to confirm even the British government had no clue about them).

The meeting went on smoothly from there and Jake was assigned his shift, Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from midnight to 6:00 am. The graveyard shift because he was currently on leave with the Aurors. The only other part that really interested him was the conversation about Harry.

Apparently Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody and a few others were running all over Britain searching for him. They still had no idea what exactly had happened to him except for what the guard, Nymphadora Tonks, had told them. She had been almost in tears at the mention of how he had been her responsibility, not that anyone publicly blamed her, of course.

Molly, her husband Arthur, Sirius and a few others, Jake could tell, were beside themselves with worry and torn between furious and terrified. He felt bad for them until he realized it was pretty much their faults, and Dumbledore's, that Harry was stuck in that hellhole anyway. The Ministry of Magic was totally ignoring the disappearance of course, and Voldemort had his own people looking for Harry. Jake almost hoped the death eaters ran into Kate. She'd know exactly why they were there. For someone whom she frequently refers to as her little brother.

Jake gave his "opinion" on the matter, giving them actual help by suggesting he was taken abroad and the meeting concluded shortly thereafter. He agreed to stay for a late dinner with several others and that was probably the best part.

The kids filed in and sat around the table with Molly, Arthur, Remus, Tonks (Don't call me Nymphadora!), Sirius, Bill, Dumbledore (Albus, I insist!), Mundungus and Kingsley.

Dinner was a large roast and soup coupled with several pitchers of butterbeer and firewhiskey. Ron, Hermione and Sirius were in an intense discussion about Harry, while Arthur, Bill, and Remus also seemed to be discussing Harry, or at least the hunt for him, and Molly and Tonks were in a quiet conversation of their own. Dung was talking to Ginny and the twins while Albus and Kingsley had their own talk on the far end of the table.

Wanting to get to know Ron and Hermione (and scout their potential as Harry's branch of the Rogues) he sat between them and Remus. They all looked up when he settled and he pretended not to notice as he filled his plate.

Finally Sirius spoke up, "How come you haven't lost your marbles yet? What with a convicted mass murderer being in your presence."

Jake made himself keep shoveling food as he mentally cursed himself. Of course, he was a Team Six Auror, he'd known about the Azkaban escape as soon as it had happened! He should have had a stronger reaction! He swept his eyes across the table to look at Sirius, absently noting that Dumbledore was eavesdropping.

"Well," he shrugged, "I figured if you'd done what you were accused of, you wouldn't be here."

Thankfully, everyone seemed appeased by that answer and went back to their own conversations.

"So, what do you do for the Aurors?" Sirius asked him suddenly.

"I am an Auror Captain and execute "high profile" missions, last year you were a large concern for every auror department. But otherwise, in April we had the whole Salem School of Witchcraft arson mess to deal with, investigating the dragon breakout for the whole summer, followed by liberating Hati from that Dark Lord that took over. I only got a week off before the Oklahoma City bombing that took until the end of April to get the SOB, he was a Scourer, you see. May was helping the Japanese get that cult leader, June we rescued a muggle pilot that got shot down. Before I took leave, they were discussing how to deal with the Iraqi Dark Lord that has been in power for waaaaay too long." Jake summarized his last active duty.

"That's was all in one and a half years?" Hermione asked incredulously.

Jake nodded, "That was an 18 month active duty, I get three months leave and then three months of training before going back. This is my second cycle through."

"What was your first one like?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Well instead of three months off then three training, I got six training so I could join, then 18 months proving I was the best. I didn't joint Team Six until 8 months into my first active duty. I became a captain three months into my second active."

"So you went straight into the Aurors after graduating or did you get a mastery in something?" Sirius asked him curiously.

"I went straight into the Aurors, but I have been studying for the Defence mastery tests independently. I plan on taking them sometime this summer, it really just depends." Jake said truthfully.

Kate had been helping him with that, as had Drake when he stopped by and they were both confident he was ready. Kate and Drake's masteries were both Curse breaking, a field that combined the already large fields of DADA and spell Crafting (and their subfields, Warding, Dark arts, dueling, Creatures (not care of), potions, charms, arithmancy, Transfiguration, Ancient runes, dark magic (not to be confused with Dark Arts), and astronomy). They had bachelors in all the minor sub categories and masteries in DADA, Spell Crafting and Curse Breaking. Most people only got NEWTs from school and then for specialized jobs (like healing) they got a bachelor's degree from job training, very few people got apprenticeships and the ensuing masteries. It was nearly impossible to self study without some help. You'd never pass the mastery test.

Part of Kate's fame was from the fact she'd done in 5 years (age 12 to 17) what takes most people 30 years to do. But she was brilliant when she applied herself and very powerful, so magic came easy to her. Everything did actually, except for talking loudly when she was nervous. It was a good thing she had gifted friends and strong morals or she'd be the most arrogant person of all time. As it were, she was painfully blunt about her abilities and her limitations. She claimed to see no reason to lie; but they thought she liked to brag and was simply too honest to exaggerate.

"You've been self studying?" Dumbledore finally gave up the pretense of not listening and gave him a surprised look. "You know what is on the test of your chosen field?"

"I have a friend who has a mastery in DADA." Jake shrugged. If he said curse breaking, it would be too easy to figure out who he was talking about, which would compromise their plans for later.

There were only about 25 Master curse breakers in the world, after all (the most in 300 years). The only other field that rare was alchemy, which currently held 19 members since Flamel died. The more common fields, like Transfiguration, charms, potions, healing, and even dueling, had thousands of masters on the other hand. DADA, warding, Spell Crafting, Dark Arts and other intermediate levels had anywhere from 2-5 thousand masters at any given time.

Dumbledore looked mildly impressed, "Ah" He nodded, "Well if you need any help while you are here, don't hesitate to ask."

Jake nodded his thanks, it would be amazing to learn from Dumbledore too, then he could say he'd been taught by both Dumbledore and Herr, on top of Ross. "Thank you, Albus. I will have to take you up on that."

Several other people at the table were giving him jealous (though good natured) looks at that offer. Bill spoke next, "Do you think it would be worth it to pursue a curse breaking mastery with self study?"

Both Jake and Dumbledore shook their heads, "No, you need a master for that." Dumbledore informed him.

"Why do you ask?" Jake asked him curiously.

"I am a curse breaker for Gringotts and I was considering getting a mastery in it, but I don't have the money or connections for it." He said, "Professor Dumbledore is a Master alchemist, and they don't really get along with the curse breakers, rivalry and all."

Dumbledore, who had gone back to conversation, this time with Sirius, looked up at his name. He nodded in agreement. "Yes, Drake Herr had vowed to never take an apprentice, and broke it for Kate Ross, but he has already confirmed that it was a one time thing. Ross is, unfortunately, of the belief that she is too young to take an apprentice, but apparently will when she is much older. The others are either too expensive, already have an apprentice or busy with their careers."

"Well, I'm sure it'll work out, these things tend to resolve themselves." Jake told Bill. He'd speak to Kate about it, maybe she could help him, if not take him on as an apprentice. She did have a lot of pull with the other masters and mistresses around the world because of her accomplishments. Plus she'd be around this year anyway, so it could work.

"If you're sure." Bill muttered skeptically. Jake resisted the urge to smirk.

Dinner wrapped up a lot later, after many talks centering around everything from Harry (again), to the minister, to goblins, to how the ministry was trying to fill the DADA position if Dumbledore didn't find someone soon. Apparently the ministry was blackmailing people to not apply. Kate would have to move soon.

Jake decided to stay in England and go home with Kenna (who was staying to get a feel for the Daily Prophet and it's weaknesses) later that week. In the meantime he began to get used to London and guard duty as well as the Order.

He could brief his friends when he got back.


	6. Chapter 6: Organizing Forces

Chapter 6: Organizing Forces

SATURDAY MORNING

Harry's eyes fluttered open at exactly 7:56 Saturday morning. He was now used to the time change, and that, combined with the counseling, amount of energy he was exerting, and the change of scenery, was making him sleep better than he had in years.

His counseling sessions with Lily were painful for both of them, but worse for him. At least they were making progress, he no longer had nightmares where he was the one who had killed Cedric and he understood, if not liked, the fact that there wasn't anything he could have done. He also admitted that some of his guilt was from the fact that the Dursleys, however unfairly, blamed everything on him. Not everything that happened was his fault, that didn't mean he didn't have nightmares about that night, and he still felt partial responsibility for asking Cedric to take the cup with him, but he didn't know, couldn't have known.

On the occlumency front, he could now clear his mind with minimal effort and had mostly sorted his thoughts, memories and knowledge. He couldn't stop Kate from breaking in, but he was beginning to understand how he was supposed to. Going through his memories had helped him with both his counseling (seeing how badly he was actually treated) and with building up his spell knowledge.

He spent a lot of time reading books and practicing basic dueling footwork. He read up on various famous techniques, including Drake's, Kate's, Grindelwald's, Dumbledore's and a few others. The book noted that, despite knowing every part of their duelling style, nobody could beat them because they could change it up, were creative, and had very few holes in their styles that could be exploited before you were overpowered. He made sure to include a few extra moves in his own practice by himself, that he could use for the same thing.

For the first time that summer, he felt like he was doing something to help. Getting ready to fight. And it was a great feeling. Another good thing, the girls had taken him shopping earlier that week and gotten him some "proper clothes" for both the muggle and magical world.

The only downside seemed to be Frankie's insistence he do all of his homework this week. He'd been annoyed, it was only the third week of June, until she had pointed out that the faster he finished, the faster he could use the time for quidditch and duelling. He'd finished his last essay yesterday.

He made his way over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of straight cut blue jeans and a blank long sleeved grey shirt. He fastened a brown leather belt to hold up his pants and his watch to his wrist. He finished dressing by putting on his brown cowboy boots and pulling his jeans over them. He was planning on going riding today after he finished his counseling session.

Breakfast was rather loud even with only Frankie, Cella, Lily and Kate there. The original Rogues, and the four best friends, are what Harry thought the marauders would have been like. (Minus Wormtail, and including someone loyal, kind, funny and brave.)

None of them were particularly skilled cooks and thus they had resorted to left overs from the pizza night they'd enjoyed two days ago. Cella, while at work during the day, was living here and would return at nights. Of course she was always swamped with work, but she was still here. Where Kate could mimic her handwriting and do some of it.

Harry would bet anything that Fudge didn't do half of what Cella did everyday for her job. Lazy arse probably shunted it all onto someone else, for example, Harry was pretty sure Dumbledore basically handled all the letters that were supposed to be dealt with by the minister. In fact, Cella had once addressed a letter to Fudge on the envelope but then written "Dear Professor Dumbledore" on the actual letter.

What had been funnier was that Dumbledore had written back, not even pretending to be Fudge or one of his representatives, and thanked her for noticing, along with dealing with the actual contents of the letter. Ever since then, Cella had always addressed letters like that.

The other Rogues (minus Kate who'd dared her in the first place) had found it hilarious and hadn't hesitated to retell the story to Harry. Apparently, Kate and Cella had agreed that the intelligence of the person who was writing was clearly well above what Fudge could comprehend so it had to have been someone else. It hadn't taken them long to figure that the only person who Fudge could ask to do it that was as smart as the letters, was Dumbledore.

Since it was a weekend, Harry didn't have his Occlumency session until Sunday, so after his counseling session, Kate decided to join him on his ride. Cells and Lily reminded them that Jake and Kenna were due with back that afternoon for a debrief before they left (Jamie and Tiff would be taking the afternoon off to hear his report.) and informed them that they, and Frankie, were going shopping.

After mounting their respective horses, a tall reddish brown American quarter horse with a white star for Kate and a salt and pepper Appaloosa for Harry, Harry followed Kate up into the mountains surrounding the ranch. Jamie had insisted they get licenses to horseback ride in the nextdoor Glacier National Park, so today they were using them.

They wandered for seemingly hours talking about everything and nothing at all, just like the old days, before Harry knew about magic, before Kate had graduated. They enjoyed an in-saddle sandwich lunch Kate had brought with her and just eventually stopped to let their horses rest by a small lake.

"Sometimes, I still can't believe that our childhood fantasies actually happened." Kate said suddenly, breaking a comfortable silence.

Harry couldn't help but agree, "All thanks to you, you and your duelling."

She smiled wryly at him, "I don't know, Jamie makes a ton of money right now, she'd have gotten it done by now too."

Harry shook his head, "Not without you to chase. And you've still got a lot on her, she makes what, 7 million galleons a year?"

Kate nodded, "She make 7 million a year, 5 guaranteed and 2 as a performance bonus, she maxes out her contract every year."

"Yeah and that adds up to what, 30 mil since she was 15?" Harry calculated.

"Yep, she didn't start making the big bucks until she graduated." Kate confirmed.

"And you made how much money on the duelling circuit? 5 mil your first year?" Harry continued his line of questioning, "Weren't you worth like 80 million galleons by your 20th birthday?"

That was about right. Kate nodded.

"Then you spent the last two years doing whatever you wanted?"

Harry still didn't look at her, but she could hear the envy in his voice. Knowing him, it was probably her freedom he craved, the control over his own life he felt like lacked. She did not have a dark lord after her blood after all.

Well, she had, working with Jake's team, defeated the Dark Lord from Hati, cleaned the floor with him, actually. She figured at some point she would be dealing with the Dark Lord in Iraq as well, but they were not on the level of Grindelwald. They were kind of like Voldemort, only without the extreme power. Both of them were powerful but not as much.

She answered him honestly. "Yes and no. I did mostly what I wanted, but I did have some responsibilities you know."

"Like what?" He asked dubiously.

"I had to keep my word to Firebolt, to help them create their new broom."

Harry turned to her sharply, "You're the one who worked out the charms that allows Firebolts to be so fast?"

She gave him a small grin, "I was going to have one sent to you but then Sirius took care of that."

Harry gave her a small smile in return. "Thanks. You know, he's supposed to be my godfather right?"

"So you've told me."

"I feel guilty." He sighed. "He wants to be there for me, but he can't and he's who my parents wanted to take me in, but…"

"But you have us instead, so you don't need him, and he doesn't even know." Katie finished.

Harry nodded, "Yes, and I feel like I'm playing him or something. Like he's going to be upset and think that I'm betraying my parents with all of-of this." He said gesturing around them.

"I think that he will understand, because he loves you, he may not like it, but eventually he'll know why and how and he will understand." Kate told him.

"What if he doesn't?"

She gave him a sad smile as she walked over to the river bank and sat down hugging her knees to her chest the way he had seen her do since he was four. "Then he doesn't love you as much as he thinks." She said quietly. "But I think he'll understand."

Harry opened his mouth to argue but she shushed him.

"Harry, he's been in Azkaban for over a decade, his emotions are a mess, nobody just walks away from that. He might not be accepting right away, and I don't think you should tell him until he's better mentally, but he will understand eventually."

Harry jerked slightly at that, but stayed silent.

"But, Harry, you shouldn't worry too much, you are a wonderful person, and no one can hate you like that." Kate told him, something like pride in her voice. "You are selfless, kind, brave, you don't need to be recognized, you just do the right thing simply because it is what you do. You are much better person than anyone I know."

Harry joined her on the bank, sprawled out on his stomach, palms supporting his face and knees bent up. "That's not true, you've done so much, you've saved so many people. You liberated Haiti, for Merlin's sake! It's thanks to you that werewolves can keep their minds during their transformations. Vampires will no longer die if they don't drink blood because of you!"

She watched him speak so vehemently and felt a rush of affection for the boy who lived, he really was a good kid. "I didn't necessarily do that to help others though, sure I want to help, but I became what I am, so we could get our ranch. I didn't wake up a 5 every morning to train because I wanted to help others, I did it so I could do what I wanted to do. You get up because it's the right thing to do."

Harry stared at her in disbelief, "Kate, I do all of it, I learned all of it, from you! You're the one who didn't care about your reputation because there was some stupid kid who needed help. You are the one who became a second degree black belt so I'd never be hurt by scourers again! You were the one who jumped in front of a deadly curse meant for one of your friends! You risked getting yourself expelled because Jamie and I were having a hard time back in England! Don't tell me you aren't selfless, maybe you aren't reckless, but you are a better person than me because you chose to put yourself there." Harry told her hotly, "If I had my way, none of it would have happened, but you'd do it all again in a heartbeat!"

While it was true that she would, she still knew he wasn't getting what she was trying to tell him so she focused on him first or rather, that he so badly underestimated himself. "Harry, you went into the chamber of secrets, knowing there was a basilisk, to save someone you barely knew, simply because she was important to your friend." She deadpanned.

He had the decency to blush. "But, what if I am, what if everything is, is changing me, what if I am becoming dark? What if I'm not the same person? What if I deserve all of this?"

Kate didn't laugh, like he half expected. "Harry, it's not your fault that bad things happen to you. If life was fair, you'd be living better than me. But you aren't the same person you were ten years ago, you are smarter, wiser, more powerful, and more mature. Harry, you are how you think me, you are growing up, but what makes you, you, hasn't changed in the slightest."

Harry didn't think he believed her, but she knew him too well. "Harry, do you trust me? Have I ever lied to you? Mislead you? Put you in danger intentionally? Even let you put yourself in danger? Have I ever put anything before you?"

"No." He answered unhesitatingly, even Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione were guilty of it, Sirius had even put revenge before him, but Kate, she'd never. That's why he loved her so much, she was what family was supposed to act like. Jamie too, and the other Rogues had even put him before most things. He could trust her with everything and anything, and he would do anything for her, for Jamie. He'd ditch Hogwarts in a heartbeat for them.

"Then why would I lie about this?" She asked him.

And to that, he had no answer.

THAT AFTERNOON

The ride back was spent in silence as Harry mulled over everything, and Kate gave him the space to do so. By the time they had returned, the other had as well and the house began to fill up while Harry went to make some snacks for everyone. He pushed everything out his mind and focused on his task. He would need to talk to Lily about it, he admitted to himself.

Jamie was the first to arrive, she slammed the front door as she entered, walked through the entrance hall into the sitting room, and carelessly tossed her travel bag onto a chair. Neither Kate nor Cella, who were seated next to each other on the couch arguing, even twitched as Jamie opened with a loud "Hello y'all!"

Lily, who had been doodling in the corner and Frankie, who had been reading both jumped slightly and then greeted the newcomer. Following her, Tiff came through the floo is a much quieter fashion, even sticking her landing. She said hello to the room at large before shuffling off to the kitchen to put some food she brought in the fridge. She made a point to come by at least once a week and stock them up with some food so they wouldn't poison themselves or starve when it was up to Kate, Cella, Lily or Frankie to cook. Harry was perfectly competent.

Jake and Kenna were the last to arrive, and by the time they did, Harry had already brought the Nachos he had made everyone out to share. Jake didn't greet anyone as he went straight to the food, but Kenna dropped all of her luggage by the door with a relieved smile.

It didn't take long for the topic of conversation to come to Jake's report which he readily gave.

"I got into the Order, and claimed my title as Lord Castillo." He began, and waved off the congratulations.

"The Order's plans are pretty simple, they are trying to get the word of Voldemort's return out but of course, nobody believes them, but they are still trying. The ministry and Daily Prophet are running a smear campaign against Harry and Dumbledore because Dumbledore has been making speeches to announce it."

Harry looked indignant at that and Jamie squeezed his arm to calm him. Kate whispered across the room, "Crickets, all of them."

Jake continued, "So they are trailing known death eaters and getting ready to go to war, they are recruiting gathering supplies and assets, setting up safe houses and getting their operations up again. Their headquarters are… argh-blah-woobel…the dog house in.. agh!- London..Grimmauld number 11 or 13.."

They understood the message kind of, it was near number 11 Grimmauld place in London, but nobody knew where exactly. They were under a fidelus for sure.

Jake shook it off, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Anywho, they are also guarding a prophecy in the department of mysteries from Voldemort. Apparently it could determine the outcome of the war if he hears it because it says how he can be defeated, I think it has something to do with you, Harry."

Harry looked startled at that, but then realized that he should have known. "I suppose that would make sense."

Kate gave him a gentle look, "Does it matter Harry?"

He gave her a sharp look, "I could be the only one who can beat him! I'll have no choice but to fight!" He exclaimed angrily.

"But, wouldn't you want to be the one to end it, for what he did to your parents to everyone?" She asked him.

"Well yeah, but now I don't even have the choice!" Harry said still upset.

"Harry, prophecies tell the future, give us an idea what will happen, they don't make the future." She told him gently.

He just looked confused so Cella clarified, "It's like if there was a prophecy that said tomorrow I will wear blue shoes. It's not making me do it, it simply says that I will. It doesn't matter if I know or not, because for whatever reason, it will happen. Sometimes the knowledge in the prophecy causes something to happen, but it was always going to happen because that was the choice the people were going to make. They don't have to make them, but the prophecy is basically predicting the choices someone will make and the chain of events that it will set off as a result."

Frankie nodded, "In this case it is saying that if you make the right decisions or do certain things, you will be able to defeat Voldemort, and because of those choices, you will be the only person in a position to do so."

"Oh." Harry muttered softly, "So it's basically telling everyone what I'm going to do? I don't have to do it, but I will and that is what is going to happen?"

"Yes! Exactly! You said it yourself, even without the prophecy, or any of the things that have happened in the last few years, you'd still want to be the one to finish him, because of what he's done!" Kate said, relieved he understood what they were trying to say.

"So it doesn't matter?" Harry echoed.

"Oh, it matters to Voldemort, the knowledge of potentially how he could be defeated, what will lead to the end of the war, one way or another. But whatever happens to get there won't change the situation, it will happen. But if Voldemort hears the prophecy he could use it to make sure it is the outcome he wants, I doubt it says that you will beat him for sure, or else they wouldn't bother to guard it." Jamie added her own two cents. "All it really tells us is that you can beat him."

Harry nodded mutely, put like that, the prophecy, even if he didn't know the exact wording, was reassuring in a way. Part of him had always known, suspected, that it would come down to him and Voldemort, the fact that it was confirmed was a surprise. But it also said he could win. "I suppose it doesn't change anything then huh? Just warns us and says I can do it."

"Pretty much." Kate agreed. There was a heavy silence as everyone digested the latest news and conclusions. It went on for several minutes as they waited for Harry to give the signal to continue.

He did so after about ten minutes, "Is there anything else?" He asked.

Jake nodded, "Of course, both the Order and Voldemort are looking for you, they are mostly looking in Britain however and have no idea what they are facing. Voldemort is at a bit of a crossroads as he doesn't have enough followers who are free for most of the day to do a lot. Snape, the Order spy in the inner circle, thinks that he is planning on clearing out Azkaban. He is also looking at the prophecy and building up his own army. He doesn't want his return recognized at all, but you messed that up so he has to be extra careful for now."

Harry nodded as he processed the information. That explains why Snape was still allowed to teach at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore said he trusted him…

"Did you find out anything about Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked Jake all of a sudden.

The 21 year old nodded. "Yeah, they're both staying at HQ, all the Weasleys are actually. They aren't a part of the Order, apparently you have to be of age and done with school, but they are being updated on the search for you. They are quite worried."

Harry wasn't sure how he felt. Relieved they were fine? Missing them a little? Upset they were at HQ and had left him stuck with the Dursleys. But then again, here he was, missing, and getting training and being briefed on what the Order was doing. Having the time of his life with the Rogues. He got an idea, if it wasn't too presumptuous, but it was worth a shot.

"Am I Rogue?" Harry asked the room.

They all stared at him. Several looked disbelieving and Jamie rolled her eyes. Cella snorted slightly.

Harry felt his heart sink slightly until Kate finally figured out he wasn't joking.

"Of course you're a Rogue! You've been here the entire time! Just because you are the youngest doesn't mean you aren't every bit as much trouble as us!"

He figured they all must've thought it was a stupid question. In hindsight it kind of was. "Kate's group is Cella, Lily and Frankie, Jamie's group is Jake, Tiff and Kenna, where do I go then? Can I make my own group?"

Suddenly understanding dawned in several eyes. "You want us to bring Ron and Hermione in, don't you?" Tiff asked him shrewdly.

He gave everyone an imploring look as he scanned over them. His eyes rested on Kate's as he spoke, "It would be useful to have more than me in Britain. And I trust both of them as much as you all trust each other. Ron is a chess master and super loyal, he's pretty powerful too. Hermione's the brightest witch in Hogwarts and probably the smartest of her generation. She might be smarter than Cella."

He knew he'd have to sell it. To bring someone into the Rogues, let alone two people, was a lot of work and trust. Especially since they didn't even know them, trusting them with all their secrets, information, access to their plans, money and safe houses, it was a lot to ask. But he knew Ron and Hermione could be trusted with this and he didn't want to keep secrets from them, not one like this.

Kate gave him a searching look. "Can you step out for a minute?" She asked him.

At least she was considering it. Or willing to let the others talk her into it. Harry was reminded right now that Kate was the unofficial leader of the group in things like this. He wasn't sure if that bettered his odds or not. She generally would do things for him, but she also liked the group how it was.

He nodded and got up with a small smile towards everyone. They watched him leave quietly and Harry could tell, with relief, nobody was upset with him.

It took them 18 minutes to decide. Harry had started nervous, then he'd calmed. Eventually he began to grow anxious at how long it was taking them, then bored, before settling on wondering if they'd forgotten about him. Finally, as he was checking his watch for the 12th time, Jamie opened the door to invite him in.

The other Rogues were all quiet as he entered, however, the silence was not uncomfortable. They were seated exactly as they had been before he left and were watching him. He was very self conscious despite having nothing to fear, it felt like they could see straight through him, silently judging his every action, as if they could sentence him to death. It was all in his head, he knew. Thank Merlin.

He retook his old seat and looked around expectantly. "Did you guys decide?"

Kate nodded, "Yes, we will consider taking them, if they prove that they can be trusted and work well with the rest of us. We will arrange to take them from the Order and bring them here, we will not tell them too much, but we will bring them. If it works out, they will be allowed to join as your branch."

Harry beamed at them, they were willing to try, it was all he could ask of them. "Thanks! When are we getting them?" He asked.

"After your birthday." Jake answered, "We need to time to plan it and I don't want the Order to suspect me, so we are going to need to wait a little."

Harry nodded in acceptance, once his friends came, he probably would not have as many lessons.

"We still need to figure out what we're going to do, I mean besides what we already have planned." Kenna said to the room.

"What exactly do you have planned?" Harry asked. He'd had an idea, but they hadn't outlined too many things in specifics. It was slightly frustrating but he knew they would tell him when they had it figured out themselves.

"Well, besides getting Ron and Hermione, using Drake to help Dumbledore a little, penetrating the Order, getting on the Wizengamot, and training you up, not much." Kate explained, her potential teaching job was a surprise.

"I was thinking I could run an article announcing Voldemort's return on the front page of my magazine, it's a change from what we normally do, but it'll be seen by everyone in the world." Kenna offered.

"That's a good idea! We could paint it as a British cover up that we found and put it in the edition on the British Ministry. It would make Fudge look really bad, and it would get the word out." Frankie grinned as plans began to unfold in her head.

"As long as it's unofficial it can't connect Drake, Kenna and I, it should work without compromising the Rogues." Cella mused, "I like it."

"Then we'll make that our next blow." Kate said decisively.

"We need to begin inserting ourselves in Britain." Jamie said suddenly, "My contract with Tokyo is up, I can accept a British offer and Tiff could open up a restaurant in London or something, and hire a manager for her current one."

Tiffany nodded in agreement, albeit reluctantly, "Where should I do it though? Diagon Alley? Hogsmeade?"

"Hogsmeade" Harry said immediately, "Then I can visit you during the year, plus it's under Dumbledore's protection."

"We need to deal with the Dark Lord in Iraq." Jake said.

Cella nodded, "Yes, there have been calls for Dumbledore to deal with him, it doesn't seem like anyone else can. But those have stopped with everything happening in Britain, and of course Drake couldn't before because of you, but Kate, you should try to establish your power. I know you don't want to, but we need Voldemort to be, at the very least, wary of you."

It took a few more minutes of goading, but Kate eventually folded and agreed to do it.

"We need to hear the prophecy." Lily said firmly.

Nobody really had any valid argument against it.

"We can slip in when Jake is on duty and hear it, the question is, Harry, do you really want to come?" Lily continued.

Harry was about to answer and then paused to think about it, did he? He had to know, he realized it wasn't really a choice. He nodded, "Yes, I do."

"Very well, who can go? Cella, you can't get caught, Jake is going to be on guard duty, I think it should be Kate, Jamie, and Harry, maybe one more." Lily finished, nobody argued either way.

She huffed in slight annoyance, "I don't like this anymore than you, but I'm not going to run away from it either."

"She's right." Tiffany said quietly. The sighs came but everyone agreed to their plan with little fanfare.

"Let's get cracking, then." Jake sighed and they all began to sort themselves up and pound out the details.

AN: Feel free to REVIEW!


	7. Chapter 7: Cleaning House

Chapter 7: Cleaning House

A WEEK LATER

"You are not coming! End of story!" She had declared.

"Why not!? I can take care of myself. And you aren't the boss of me! You can't tell me what to do! We are supposed to be in this together!" Harry had roared.

"We are against Voldemort together, what use would you be if you died here!?"

"I should be allowed to come, I have experience with this stuff too! You can't go alone." Harry had argued for himself, loudly.

"I'm not going alone! I'm just not going with you. It's too dangerous and there is no point in you risking your life for things you think you can handle!" Kate had retorted. "You are underage, have never done anything this big before, and don't have the training for this!"

It had been hours of glaring and screaming and then several days of no words before Harry had agreed to remain behind. A lot of harsh words had come from Kate at him, reminding him that he was not yet ready to handle this kind of thing. It had finally ended when Kate made him write down all the things that could go right and wrong and what the consequences would be if he were there. And really think it through.

Only Jamie would be accompanying her in the actual assault. Jake would be there with Team Six, but he wouldn't be dealing with actual Dark Lord Samhain, and Lily would be on site but with the medics, not fighting.

They had spent the better part of the week organizing the assault but now it was time. They had met at a Team Six base in Florida to get their gear and make their final preparations. An aircraft carrier had been deployed several days ago to the Mediterranean for backup and as a retreat point.

The 12 members of Team Six, including Jake, were portkeyed in and after them Kate, Jamie, and the four accompanying them followed. After them was the 6 medics and warders who would wait in a safe spot in case anything went wrong and secure the wards to trap everyone in. They got their equipment and loaded up the two small planes they were taking, reviewing the maps for the last time. The trip over the dessert was made in near silence as the tension was thick and Kate and Jamie kept exchanging reassuring smiles and looks.

Kate's stomach clenched as she felt dread creep up her spine, it was all she could do to not be sick. The urge to turn around and run was strong as she looked around nervously. Flickers of fear crept at the corner of her mind as she steeled her face into a neutral look. She surveyed the Aurors (and Jamie) around her, all of their faces were set into grim expressions and Kate could tell Jamie was nervous, she looked like she had the first time she'd played professional quodpot. Kate rather felt like the first time she had been in the International Duelling Championship Round.

She thought of everyone back home, safe on the ranch, Harry was probably going crazy with anxiety and Frankie wouldn't be too far off. Lily was in the plane behind them and most likely fidgeting with her equipment to distract herself. Jake was probably going through his pre-mission meditation.

Kate pushed all of those thoughts from her mind and ran through their plan, mentally, one more time. The complex that served as Samhain's headquarters was a four story building with 6 doors in and out. The front, main doors were the most heavily guarded, with the two back doors and side door being close seconds. There was one door about 600 ft from the main building that was a tunnel from the bottom floor, the underground dungeons. It would hold all the prisoners and not much else. Maybe some spare weapons, but they did not expect for their to be anything else, besides a good amount of guards.

The next floor, the ground floor, was mainly meeting rooms and access points to other floors. It was the base of operations and where they met for large assaults, it would not be heavily guarded from the inside, but it would have the most Shirors, Samhain's followers. The second floor, was where all the living quarters, private offices, and hospital rooms were. This would have more guards and less people, along with more information. The third as simply storage and the like, it would be guarded but more by people who can raise an alarm and keep watch over the grounds. They would need to jump from the planes out of sight of this floor.

The plan was rather simple, Samhain would be on the second floor if no alarms were raised and the ground floor if he knew he was trapped. The medics and warders would stay on the perimeter and make a hole in the wards from everyone to sneak through. Then they would lock everyone inside, and then stop people from entering. They expected that when everyone was locked in, they'd know they were under attack.

Jake and five soldiers would be entering and securing the escape tunnel to the dungeon as well as freeing prisoners. The second group, led by a woman named Grace Elliot, would be walking through the front door, so to speak. They would deal be responsible for dealing with the swarms of Shirors that would get in before the wards stopped people from entering. Kate, Jamie and their team would be getting in from a side door and Jamie would secure the extra doors with three others (one per door) while Kate and Greg (one of their team members) would flush everyone from upstairs down, that hadn't already been forced down by Grace. The plan was for everyone, from there, to fight off the Shirors while Kate cornered Samhain himself. She had strict orders to kill him where he stood. It was planned enough that they all knew what they were doing, but not so specific that they couldn't improvise as needed.

Kate wasn't sure if it was a blink of an eye or an eternity before they were jumping out of the plane, careful to not use magic in case Shirors registered the magical presence. They were banking on the hope that the muggle government would be too slow in telling Samhain, especially as they didn't come across as magical in anyway the muggles could pick up.

The group of 24 total, met as soon as they all hit the ground and dropped their parachutes, all uninjured. As this wasn't the first time any of them had worked with the Aurors, they all knew how to skydive by themselves, but that didn't stop the adrenaline from pumping as they all wordlessly shed their air gear. The warders spent about 10 minutes working the wards as subtlety as they could. Kate was tempted to go help them but stayed away to conserve magic, just in case. It was 3am local time and 8pm yesterday in New York City.

Jake's team went through first and took off to the left to get to the escape tunnel. Grace's team went next to find cover in the entrance courtyard. Finally Kate and Jamie's team stood two and four, respectively, at the two backdoors about 20 ft from each other and gave each other small nods.

Get quietly tapped her earpiece and whispered to the others, via their own pieces, "Kate and Jamie are in position. Over."

They had decided it would be a lot simpler if they simply used their real names, especially since they planned on announcing that the Ross sisters had been there, anyway.

"Copy that. Galaxy is in position. Over." Jake's code name was a simple play on his last name, and how it sounded like something from astronomy.

"Copy, Dove is in position, over." Grace's name was also a play on her name, her first one.

"Wards are going up in, three…two...one." Someone told them from outside.

Kate felt the magic of the new wards flare as she waited for the signal from Jake and Grace that they had entered. It was an excruciating wait as they heard the sounds of fighting from inside.

After several minutes, Jamie's door was opened as several Shirors tried to escape with their lives. Cowards. Jamie needed no prompting to take them out. With any means necessary orders, they quickly bound the first three, while the next two tried to put up a fight, one was stunned and the other was killed with little fanfare.

They knew the party was just starting.

"Dungeons secure, repeat DUNGEONS SECURE! Over." Jake announced into his head piece, "We are evacuating prisoners as we speak. Kate, your up!"

Kate and Jamie still did not exchange a word as they went their own ways, the last Kate saw, Jamie kicked down her door and entered. One of her people stayed to watch both doors.

Kate delivered a powerful roundhouse to her own door, infusing it with magic for extra power and the door flew off its hinges with a screech of metal.

She pulled her wand out and motioned from Greg, code named Panther, to cover her back. The pair crept into a dark and hallway with stairs in front of them leading to the next floor. They could hear the distant sounds of spell fire as they quickly scanned the area, deeming it secure, they both cautiously made their way up the stairs, careful to silence themselves.

It was eerily quiet to them as the floor was mostly deserted. They made it to the top of the stairs in short order and Kate went right while Panther went left. Suddenly the floor shook slightly and Kate looked around, suddenly tense. When nothing happened she decided it was another fight.

Sticking close to the wall, she counted four doors on the right and three on the left, blessedly no windows. The first door was on the left so Kate went there.

She drew her wand and cast the most powerful shield she knew, before reaching and gingerly pushing the door open. She hurriedly pulled her hand back behind the shield and the door creaked open slowly. She took three steps to enter and found the room was, at first sight empty. Taking care not to drop her shield, Kate wandlessly cast a revealing spell and found that this room, and adjourning bathroom, was indeed empty.

Comfortable turning her back to the room she turned on heel and shut the door, quickly casting several wards to block passage in or out of the room for the rest of the night. Then she marked the door with the Team Six logo, to indicate it had already been secured and moved on.

The next door, on the right this time, was also empty and treated the same as the previous one.

The third door was, Kate opened cautiously and was forced to jump to the side as several spells were flung at her. The shield held against the two of the six that hit their target, and Kate quickly responded. "Flipendo! Stupefy! Confringo!"

The first spell blew that side of the room, dresser, nightstand, and half the bed, apart. The second put a large dent in the wall, making parts of it crumble and crack. The third splintered the wooden floor and bed frame into small shards and set the dresser on fire.

Kate looked around furiously in the direction the spells had come from, lowering her shield. There was nobody, as a wandless revealer revealed, same as the first two. Another six spells flew at her quite suddenly and she dove behind a nearby armchair, as it suddenly was cut to shreds, set on fire, covered in ropes and had its stuffing ripped out. Some not so nice spells then, on a hastily thrown up, timed ward against intruders. As easy to dispel as to create, for her anyway.

She waved her wand in a complex multi-motion and muttered "Destrusium Shimles Protues Timel Ward!"

An orange light shimmered and expanded before blew itself to pieces in front on her as a result. A "Revelio Danwardiel!" Showed that to be the only protections on the room.

She warded and marked this room as well and carefully moved on. Anyone who was paying attention would now be alerted to her presence because of the ward. Her only advantage was that they might think her dead because the spells had stopped. She slowly walked back across the hall to the fourth door. Deciding to cast a "homenum revelio" before she entered proved to be quite smart. There were three people behind the fourth door.

She decided to cast a spell to alter her if the door opened and went to check the fifth one. She would do the empty rooms first and then deal with the people when she knew how many could potentially disturb her. The fifth was empty and ward free, thank Merlin, so after a quick peek, she shut, warded, and marked it. The sixth door had people in it as well and was given the same alarm spell. The seventh was empty and got the ward and mark to prove it.

Deciding which door to take, proved to be rather simple. She took the fourth door after silencing the walls so nobody would hear. With her shield raised she burst in and fired off a rapid succession of 12 stunners. Two hit true and their victims crumpled. The third pulled up a shield in time and snarled at her. He fired a killing curse at her and she sidestepped as the green curse flew by.

She waved her free hand to throw up a shield for dark curses as she fired several overpowered spells at the man. He tried to jump to the side but was caught with a banishing charm and ended up in the wall. Half his body was through the plaster and being supported by the part of the wall that wasn't crumbled. He made weird groaning sound and Kate wasted no time stunning him.

She bound all three with ropes and marked the door. Now for the last one, she had no doubt who was in there and all she had to do was take them out. It was then that she heard from Jamie, "East wing ground level clear, Over!"

There wasn't anyone else for back up, for them, everyone was holed up downstairs. But she decided to throw up a silencing spell just in case, and put up her shield in preparation to enter.

EARLIER THAT EVENING WITH JAKE

Jake and his team found the door they were looking for rather quickly, and at the warders' signal, it was blasted open.

Right away, they were greeted with two guards, one of whom sent off a signal that made Jake swear internally. Fortunately, the house's alarm blared a moment later and he was quite sure, by the looks on their faces, they hadn't done that. Dove was in.

Reacting before they could, Jake rushed at one of them and took a powerful swing at the right one's head. It connected with a sickening crunch as the man crumpled. This sprung everyone else into action as several roars of "Stupefy!" and "Protego!" filled the corridor. The second guard was out in a heartbeat.

Motioning with his hand, one of the men, Starkiller, stayed back to guard the door as the other five continued forward.

There next resistance rushed up to them about thirty feet later in the form of a squad of twelve Shirors. Throwing up a shield as quickly as possible all of the Aurors behind him opened fire. Four fell to the initial fire and the rest got up shields or dove out of the way in time. Coming back up, many cries of "Avada Kedavra!" filled the tunnel.

All of the Aurors jump to doge, but Jake realized with no small amount of grief, that one had not in time, he couldn't tell who in the darkness. With rage taking over his actions, combining with adrenaline, he shot into action, unleashing several reductors and explosion curses at the group in front of him. His team followed his lead and after spending a few more minutes dodging killing curses, the Shirors were all down, and dead. They kept moving and did not meet anymore resistance. Before they emerged on the other side, Jake stopped them. "The prison guards stuck in the dungeons should be prepared for us by now. Expect an ambush the moment we enter."

He got noises of confirmation that they had heard and he pulled up his most powerful shield. He kicked the door down after a moment of hesitation, and roared "UNITED STATES AURORS! EVERYONE FREEZE!"

This, of course, never happened, and if it ever did, odds were, they were breaking down the wrong door. A loud cheer could be heard as prisoners began to hope for a rescue, but the Shirors didn't listen. Instead, the ambush they were expecting, came in full force.

Screams of Avada Kedavra filled the air as all of the Aurors summoned or conjured things to shield themselves from the onslaught. It was a moment later that the standard reorganizational moment happened and Jake and his team took full advantage.

"Confringo! Bombarda Maxima! Stupefy!" Came the standard spell chain from every Auror. It wasn't long before the Shirors had thrown up shields and everyone was engaged in a duel. Jake personally, had four of the fifteen opponents in his own duel.

He held his shield to block his left side as he fired rapidly at two Shirors standing near each other.

"Stupefy! Petrificus Totalus! Incarcerous! Relashio!" He thundered, adding a leg locker silently. One fell immediately to the spells while the other dodged in time.

The Shiror countered with several dark spells and Jake switch to a deflection shield and aimed them at another one of his opponents he was dodging spells from at the same time. They hit true and the Shiror was dead before he hit the floor. This made the last two pause long enough for him to land a roundhouse kick on the closer as he shot a spell at the farther. The kick forced the man to the ground as the other dived to the side, Jake opened fire with several cutting and stunning spells. The Shiror was trapped with no time to pull up a shield and took the full brunt of the spells.

The last was struggling to get up, so he was hit with a stunner with little fanfare.

He looked around to see most of the Shirors were down and would not be getting back up, one rolled over slightly, so Jake hit him with a stunner. Three were still fighting, but the two Aurors dueling them were wrapping it up quickly and with a few well placed spells, they too, fell. Once everyone had collected themselves and healed a few small cuts, Jake spoke.

"Willow, Hampton, started releasing the prisoners bring them out the tunnel, and get them to the medics, they'll take them from there. Bass, secure the entrance from upstairs. I am going to back up Dove." He ordered.

All of the Aurors nodded and sprang into action, Bass falling into step with him. As he made his way up the stairs, the sound of fighting became more pronounced and he quickened his pace. Before he stepped out, he called on his earpiece, "Dungeons secure, repeat DUNGEONS SECURE! Over."


	8. Chapter 8: The Dark Lord Samhain

Chapter 8: The Dark Lord Samhain

_**SAME TIME THAT EVENING WITH JAMIE**_

Jamie Ross ignored all of her instincts that told her to run and leave it to those who were paid to do this when Jake's signal came.

"Ophree, guard the doors, everyone else, with me." She ordered, relieved her voice did not waver. She didn't dwell on it as she pulled up a shield and gave her best kick, infused with some magic, and knocked the door down.

The door flying off its hinges attracted the attention of the Shirors in the well lit room and they all spun around. Wordlessly, Jamie opened fire with everything she had. The rest of her team followed her lead and they mowed down the room for several minutes, occasionally dodging a beam of green or red that was fired at them. The candles began to flicker as ambient magic levels rose with the spell fire.

"_REDUCTO! BOMBARDA MAXIMA! CONFRINGO!"_ Jamie thundered after a few minutes. The effect of the spells thrown with all her power were devastating. The wall in front of her collapsed as enemy spell fire ceased and the roof shook.

The Aurors (and Jamie) cautiously began to stop casting and threw up shields. The tension was thick while they waited for the dust to settle. When it did, there were almost a hundred Shirors running at them but stopping dead at the sight in front of them. There were about 20 Shirors motionless on the ground. She wasn't sure how many were dead and how many were stunned/unconscious, but none so much as twitched. Jamie stared at them all for a moment, before she broke out of her reverie and summoned a large amount of controlled fire. The wall of fire broke everyone else out of their stuptor and chaos reigned as many of the Shirors coughed and tried to shoot spells at them.

Unfortunately for them, they could not see through the wall so hitting five moving targets was nigh impossible. The Aurors, while not being able to see, simply had to fire everywhere and the stunners would blend in with the fire. They made sure to do it silently, so as not to alert them until absolutely necessary that they were falling. Eventually, the Shirors on the other side began to try to put out the fire, and once Jamie felt they had enough to put it out, she released her control and opened fire as well. "_Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!"_

Once the fire was out, serval full on fuels broke out. It was about 20 on 5, which was great considering it had started about 100 on 5.

Jamie personally took on three as she weaved in and out of spells and summoned rubble from behind the Shirors to hit them with and block killing curses. She shot several more curses at them and even landed a few punches on one of the guys who got too close to her from another duel. "_Incarcerous! Stupefy! Expulso! Deprimo!"_ She shot off at each of her opponents, not bothering to conjure a shield, but simply dodging. She _was_ a professional athlete after all. One crumpled right away, stunned, and the other was thrown through a window, he wasn't coming back.

She turned to her last enemy and was forced to duck behind a large chunk of table when he fired. She gripped her wand tightly and jumped up, firing a cutting curse at him. He sidestepped it and threw four dark spells at her with she had throw up shield but the impact was still too strong. She was hit with the recoil and thrown into a wall. Her head spun as she fought to stay conscious, it took her a moment to clear her vision. Jamie stood shakily and raised her wand just as the Shiror moved in for the kill, "_Expelliarmus!"_

The spell hit true and the dark wizard was thrown into the pile of rubble, and she suppressed a wince when she heard the definite sound of a skull cracking. Looking around, she saw that most of the others had fallen as well, plus her 3, another 11 had fallen to the other four, which left six for the combined five of them.

The remaining six seemed to realize this as well, for they regrouped in a spot where there weren't too many bodies lying around to stand. It wasn't too long before they were engaged in a large group brawl, spells flying in every direction. Despite being slightly dizzy, Jamie focused on the one closest to her and began a barrage of spells. "_Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy! Diffindo!"_

Then it was a matter of throwing up a shield, as it was too cramped to dodge, she opted to help her comrades with "_Relfuxis Protego!" _She aimed for the middle of the pack and hoped to hit one with the spell meant for her.

A moment later there was a loud scream as a Shiror lost their intestines and Jamie couldn't bring herself to feel bad. She instead stepped up the ferocity of her casting and eventually overtook her opponent on sheer number of spells. It didn't take long for the others to fall and the Aurors took a moment to catch their breaths and look around.

Jamie was stunned at the sheer _number_ of Shirors the five of them had taken out. It was insane, the floor was completely covered, and sometimes layered, in bodies. She winced as her head began to pound and waved her wand. The spell ensured that her probable concussion would not get worse as she began to summon ropes to tie the Shirors up. The other Aurors took her lead and in five minutes everyone, dead or alive, was bound by ropes.

The back wall had fallen to reveal an empty hallway that they crept towards, wands at the ready. When they got a look at the well lit stone hallway, they found several doors. Most of which were empty.

One door was guarded by privacy wards and had about 50 Shirors and a what the scans said was a lot of armor. Jamie knew exactly what to do this time, "Get one of the gas grenades, knock them all out." She whispered as the quietly crept towards the door.

None of them were up to more duelling, they needed a few more minutes, so it was time for some dirty tricks. One of the men in her group, Football, clicked the grenade into place as it began to tick from ten, when it reached three, he opened the door, threw it in and slammed it shut. Jamie and the others threw up shields immediately and managed to get them up in time to contain the gas to that one room.

Jamie grimaced as they heard a lot of yelling and swearing from inside. They had already locked them all in and tied the containment ward to that room. The last thing they did was mark the door with a warning for the others. Thankfully, the rest of the wing was deserted and they took a minute to heal themselves and breathe.

"Ok, we have to get to the main room and provide assistance, I want Football, Guerilla, and Luigi, to secure the other end of the house, Heimdall, you and I are going to help Dove and Galaxy." Jamie ordered, a chorus of "Yes, ma'am"s later and they were off.

On their way down, Jamie called, "East wing ground level clear, Over!" On the ear piece.

When they reached the door to the main room, they could tell they were at the right place by the amount of noise, exchanging looks, Jamie reminded them, "Remember Football, Guerilla, and Luigi, help in your way over, but don't linger, and try to keep everyone in the house. Heimdall, guard this door from that side so no one can escape, when the others are done, someone needs to guard that side, keep them in one room."

There were several nods and she cautiously opened the door. Inside was chaos, Dove and her five were firing left, right, and center, bodies littered the floor, but, by some miracle, all the Aurors were still fighting. Jake was over on one side blowing through several Shirors himself, and it seemed neither side was hesitating to use lethal force. The Aurors were far too outnumbered to not do so.

Jamie and the others (besides Heimdall who covered them) were quick to join the fray. The three Team Six Aurors blasted their way across the room, taking a dozen or so Shirors out on their way. Jamie went to help Jake, shooting cutting and piercing hexes at every enemy in sight. Most were not expecting her and fell, but a few got up shields and she soon found herself up against six Shirors.

She got three down and a broken left wrist when something happened to freeze the entire room. Somewhere along the way Panther has entered and begun to fight, but not Kate. She soon found out why.

The roof seemed to groan for a moment, if anyone was listening and then, quite suddenly, a large portion, rather like a duelling stage, crumbled in one piece and crashed to the floor, with a thunderous thunk. Several bodies fell through with it and a dust cloud went up as everyone seemed to freeze. It took a moment, but the unmissable sounds of a duel were heard from in the cloud as well as flashes of light spotted. The whole scene was a blur to the naked eye.

_**KATE AT THE SIXTH DOOR ON THE SECOND FLOOR**_

_There wasn't anyone else for back up, for them, everyone was holed up downstairs. But she decided to throw up a silencing spell just in case, and put up her shield in preparation to enter._

She blasted the door down with a strong chain of spells, moving forward as she did so. "_Bombarda! Confringo! Reducto! Impedimenta! Depulso! Flipendo!"_ She thought furiously, not wanting to give anything away with her voice.

The whole room was instantly blasted into a mess and three shields snapped into place immediately. The room was well lit and appeared to be a bedroom. Four of the men were out (probably dead), three stood in the middle, shields up, and the last was out of sight. Kate's most powerful shield came up with but a thought.

The men who stood opposite to her were clearly high ranking, the one in middle was the most powerful of them, Samhain. She regarded them wearily.

"And who do we have here?" He asked, his voice a disgusting, silky thing.

She snarled at him slightly, "Samhain." She greeted curtly, attempting to confirm her thoughts. "You know who I am."

"Indeed." He answered, not specifying which one he was agreeing to. "Katherine Ross. Professional Dueller, the undisputed best of all time, master curse breaker, freelance warder, most powerful witch alive. It is a pleasure."

Kate forced herself to ignore the fact he might knew the depth of her magical power, or maybe not, there weren't too many notably powerful witches right now, and she was at the top of every list. Instead she retorted to his last comment, "Wish I could say the same."

He merely chuckled and she went on.

"Dark Lord Samhain, You are hereby under arrest under the authority of the United States Auror Department, you have the right to remain silent and any statements can and will be used against you in the court of law. Come quietly and you will not be harmed, however should you attempt to escape I have authorization to use lethal force." She said, not expecting him to listen to her.

He gave her a smirk, "We both know you are here to kill me, Ms. Ross. Why read my "rights"?" The last man had gotten up and joined them by now.

She looked bored as she answered him easily, "Everyone is entitled to due process should they come quietly. I will not harm you if you do, but be warned, if you fight me, you will lose."

He laughed again, "Such confidence from such a little girl! But I can not come quietly, nor can you defeat me in a duel."

"Can not or will not?" She asked rhetorically.

He smiled, "Shirors, kill her."

The three in front of her advanced quickly, wands raised, and the killing curse on their lips. If this failed, she was dead, she'd never tried it on these spells, or any in public, so she didn't know if it would work, but anything else and she would die for sure. She lashed her magic out to the room with a thrust of her hand and closed her eyes. She weaved her magic into everything around it and as the spells flew towards her, she froze all the magic in the room, stopping the spells mid air. All four men stared at her, mouths slightly agape.

She smirked and said, "You shouldn't have done that."

Her eyes glinted with rage as she forced the curses to reverse and they slammed into their owners, who were frozen with shock. Since she couldn't tell anyone how they died (this kind of knowledge was too dangerous for the public, if _everyone _could control magic like _that_), she could simply say Samhain killed them and change the magical signature later. Actually, as she thought about it, she decided now was as good a time as any, and she waved her wand in a small arc at the three bodies. As she did this she pulled her magic back to herself from the room.

Samhain hadn't moved to stop her as he looked at her calculatingly and, Kate was pleased to note, a healthy fear. "_Who_ are you?" He hissed.

She gave him a mock innocent look, "Kate Ross, a little girl, as you so aptly described me."

She aimed her wand at him, he unconsciously mirrored her, "You had a chance to come quietly, now I will bring you in, dead or alive, by force."

He attacked her with a hissed "_Crucio!"_ Clearly spooked out of using the killing curse.

She sidestepped it calmly and with a flick of her wand she transfigured a nearby chair into a dozen knives and banished them at him.

He transfigured them into cotton balls and forced them to the ground with a flick of his wand and fired three dark curses in rapid succession.

She absently recognized a entrail expelling curse, a blood boiling hex, and a beheading curse. Her next shield was technically dark itself, but it wasn't illegal in most countries.

She responded with a suffocation curse, cutting curse, stunner, and conjured ropes, with her non-wand hand. She overpowered them so the first spell destroyed his shield, the second hit him in the chest and the third and fourth missed as he jumped back onto the bed to avoid them.

He winced but kept going "_Glacius! Oppugno! Crucio!" _He thundered whipping his wand quickly.

Kate stepped up her speed of casting as she sidestepped the first one, put up a shield to electrocute the pillows sent to attack her and, then summoned a book to block the third. Her response was swift, "_Confringo! Incarcerous! Glacius! Flipendo! Diffindo! Deprimo! Petrificus Totalus!" _Half of it was spoken, half silent.

The first four spells were deflected straight into the floor, and the others dodged. Samhain rushed to transfigure a stone golem to attack her and then fired a few curses of his own.

She jumped to the side to allow the golem to get between them and then blasted it into the wall. It crashed heavily in the corner and the floor groaned under the weight. The spells came fast and furious, Kate dodging light spells and holding a shield for the dark ones. She herself casted dozens of spells. "_Duro! Orbis! Pullus! Vermiculus!" _

She placed them so the Iraqi dark lord couldn't dodge all of them. And indeed, when he tried, he ended up stuck in a bubble. Kate blocked the spells he'd gotten off before he'd been trapped and then began to walk towards him, several spells coming out of her wand.

Samhain, clearly frustrated, cast a fire whip that popped the bubble and dragged across the floor, easily burning through the wood at least 15 ft to her right. He swung it around at her and she hit the deck as it flew over her.

When he tried to yank it down, she transfigured it into a sword pointed at him and banished it, sending a loud "_Redactum Skullus! Mucus ad Nauseam! Locomotor Mortis! Sectumsempra!"_

He dove to one side as the sword flew by and embedded itself in the wall, and he quickly swore as he deflected all of her curses into the floor on her left.

They glared at each other for a moment before beginning to cast in earnest, not bothering with transfiguration as they hurled blasting, explosion, banishing, and fire curses at each other, wands never stopping.

Kate made sure she ordered her spells so every motion carried into the next as she rolled to one side and then hurled another Diffindo at the dark lord. It missed and instead went about two feet into the floor behind him. It was about then that she realized that they, with their constant deflections into the ground, had created a huge gorge surrounding them into the floor. On every side, spots where you could see the room below were present.

She didn't have time to dwell on it has he shot a stream of unforgivables at her. She was hit with an imperious but didn't even stop her spell casting as she batted it off mentally.

"Is that the best you got? What a weak imperious! I know four year olds with stronger wills!" She taunted, goading him to do something rash.

He gritted his teeth, "Compared to your shallow spells? I think it is you who are weak! Can't use a shield charm?" He retorted.

She gave him a smile, "What's the fun in _that_?"

He glared at her, "Fun!? You call getting caught by death fun?"

"Death? Are we talking about yours?" Kate asked in mock confusion as she sent another explosion hex at him. It hit behind him and the floor shuddered and groaned.

His responding banishing spell did it. The gorges they made crumbled slowly and Kate braced herself as the whole section of the bedroom fell, the bodies of Samhain's guard hanging off the side before sliding down with them.

They paid no heed to the noise and sudden eyes staring at them as they loudly hurled hexes into the cloud of dust that had taken over, in vain hopes of catching the other unawares. It, of course, didn't really work, Kate almost took a concussion hex and a tripping jinx (Really? A _tripping_ jinx?), but she put up shield in time. She had no idea if she hit home with any of her own spells.

As soon as the dust began to clear a little, Kate spotted Samhain and began to attack in earnest. "_Incarcerous! Glacius! Flipendo! Diffindo! Immobulus! Incendio!"_

He responded in kind and soon they were both flinging everything they had at each other, barely dodging and not conjuring shields.

Kate summoned a few pieces of rubble to block some, admittedly, unknown spells and continued her assault. "_Ebublio! Inflatus! Sectumsempra! Flipendo! Levicorpus! Colloshoo!"_ She thought as she moved at almost full speed, not bothering to speak.

She could tell he was struggling under the strain by the way he slipped back slightly and the way sweat was gathering on his brow. His eyes betrayed a growing panic and Kate knew she had him, without even using obscure spells. She began to advance as he was forced off the platform the fallen floor had made them.

"_Diffindo! Ebublio! Inflatus! Locomotor Wibbly! Immobulus! Expulso! Deprimo! Petrificus Totalus! Incendio! Oppugno! Bombarda! Reducto! Serpensortia! Vermillious! Duro! Tarantallegra! Ducklifors! Langlock! Depulso! Impedimenta! Expelliarmus! " _She said only about half the spells she cast as she forced him into a corner and he eventually got hit by some. The last three she said specifically, as he got nailed with all three. This all happened within the span of 3 seconds.

First he was slammed into the wall and then as he pushed forward the second one slowed him to slow motion and the third robbed him of his wand, which Kate caught deftly and tucked away. She got up to him, and pointed her wand at his heart not two feet from him. "Dark Lord Samhain, you are under arrest-"

That was as far as she got before he fired a wandless beheading curse at her. She, despite expecting it, barely got a deflector up in time and he certainly didn't even try to dodge as he was hit with his own curse. He was dead within seconds.

A roar went up around them as she was suddenly aware that she had a broken ankle.

AN:Please REVIEW!

I'm glad you are all enjoying this and thank you for sticking with me! I am excited to introduce Ron and Hermione, but that won't be for quite a few chapters...there are other things that have to happen first. As for "unsolicited advice" in the comments section, any advice is helpful, as long as its constructive! Again, please feel free to REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9: Tired and Ready To Go Home

Chapter 9: Tired and Ready To Go Home

_**THREE DAYS LATER**_

Kate, Jamie, Jake and Lily all sighed in relief as they sunk into chairs/the couch of the Ross Ranch.

The past three days had been pure chaos. Worse than the raid that caused it. Immediately after Samhain's death, many Shirors had attacked Kate, intent on avenging their lord. Fortunately, Kate had been expecting that, and combined with the heartened Aurors (and Jamie) left in the room, they had been defeated after little fighting. Kate had ended up with a broken ankle, minor concussion and several large cuts and burns (all of which had been healed without a mark) and everyone else had been along those lines.

The Aurors has lost one man with Jake's team and rescued over 150 prisoners from around the world. The Shirors had been decimated, nearly 200 had died and a further 350 had been rounded up from either the house or other places. That meant 550 out of roughly 600 were accounted for. As for the team themselves, after getting medical attention for the worst of their injuries, they had been protkeyed to the aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean.

From there they had been checked vigorously to make sure they were not imposters, then given more medical exams, before finally they had to deliver their reports. By the time they had wrapped up, they had left at 3am Iraqi time and had gone to bed at noon Iraqi time. The trip itself had taken four hours apparently, from lift off at the arms base to their portkey landing there. The five hours after that had to have been the biggest blur of the whole blur.

The next time they had woken, they had found Kate's face splashed across every newspaper in the world, proclaiming her a hero, and true next Dumbledore and yada yada. Her entire, already rather public, life had been back in every paper as everyone gushed over the 22 year old. Jamie had gotten quite a bit of attention as well, sisters defeat the dark lord, and all. But Kate had borne the brunt of it, to her abject horror.

After _that _shock, she had been fed whatever she wanted and then stuck in a long briefing with top Auror officials. Being thanked and told what she can and can't say about the whole thing had taken much longer than it should have.

The press conference that had followed had made her want to take it back, undo it. She had been dragged in, forced to be nice and answered all sorts of ridiculous questions. Her picture had been taken in every possible position, and Jamie had been asked to cameo in quite a few. Everything from if she thought her blood status had anything to do with her powers to what quodpot team she supported was asked of her. She answered honestly at least and made sure she was polite to everyone.

The next day (as that had taken all of the first day after), was full of her packing it up and getting ready to leave. That afternoon, she had received a horrifyingly grand, hero's welcome in the ministry of magic (Cella had apologized profusely later). There had been a large banquet as she was awarded the MACUSA medal of freedom with distinction. Very overboard. It had resulted in another press conference and the unveiling of her chocolate frog card. Apparently with all of her achievements, it was about time.

This was one, once she read the card, that actually made sense, she was truthfully rather proud of it (it sounded like it belonged and was even more impressive than several others). Cella had quietly told her that the medal of freedom hadn't been her idea and that everyone was demanding she get it. This made Kate feel more comfortable with it and she said, on camera, that she was most proud of it.

While slightly flattered, she wanted it to all go away. Badly. It was annoying and hard to be that cheerful with her lack of sleep. Finally, that morning, with the last of the paperwork had been dealt with and they had been allowed to leave. Jake's leave of absence had been extended another month in thanks. Lily's reputation had also gotten even grander. So when the three of them, Jake had gone separately, tried to leave the ministry, they were promptly mobbed. While Lily didn't have an autographs to sign, Kate and Jamie (who were used to it from their normal jobs) had even more than normal.

It had been a battle, but after an hour, they had gotten to the apparition point and left quickly. Which brought them to now.

Before too long (a few minutes at most), Frankie, Harry, Tiff, Kenna, and Cella exploded into the room.

"You're back!" Harry exclaimed grinning at them.

"Hey Harry," Kate said tiredly. "How's the last few days been here?"

Kenna grinned at her, "Well all anyone's been talking about is you, so that's annoying, but otherwise pretty good. I managed to convince everyone that I had already asked you for an interview and you said no."

"Thanks." Kate grimaced at the thought of giving interviews or exclusives.

"Between that and the stories they broke about Voldemort, it's been crazy everywhere, especially Britain." Cella informed her.

Kenna had broken the news about Voldemort and the British ministry about four days before they had left for Iraq. It had been pretty big news everywhere and Fudge had been forced to cover his hide. While Britain was still pretty much firmly in his grasp, the seed of doubt was there and many more were believing Harry and Dumbledore than before.

The rest of the world officially looked at Britain as a laughing stock and at Dumbledore with a lot of pity. The article had basically outlined what Harry and Dumbledore claimed, painted Fudge as an idiot, and showed evidence that their story was completely plausible. Then it confronted who you should trust, idiotic minister or leader of the light. It was brilliantly done and very damning to Fudge who had done everything he could to sensor it.

"Anything else?" Jamie asked.

Tiffany beamed at her, "I bought a new store in Hogsmeade, on the main road. I was competing with some lady named Madam Puddifoot, but seeing as I already had successful store and she didn't, they gave it to me."

"That's great, Tiffany! Our plans are coming around nicely." Kate smiled and let her head fall back, closing her eyes. As happy as she was, and relieved that everything was working, she was also running on very little (and disrupted) sleep.

"Go take a nap, we'll wake you for dinner." Cella ordered.

They were both too tired and in too much agreement to argue being told what to do like a 5 year old. They all staggered to their rooms and were out before they hit the bed.

_**THE NEXT MORNING**_

Harry woke up bright and early this morning and dressed himself before heading downstairs. He was more happy than he cared to admit to have Kate, Jamie, Lily and Jake back for a while. The trip to Iraq has given him several sleepless nights as he worried about his friends.

Wondering if he'd ever see them again was something that _he_ never wanted to see again. Cella had been at the ministry that entire night, monitoring the mission and hadn't been back the following morning, so Harry had begun to fear the worst. Frankie had assured him that either way she would have been away all night, and that she'd have told them by now if something had gone wrong. Harry hadn't been able to breathe easy, however, until that morning's paper came and Kate's face had been plastered on the front under the headline _ROSS DEFEATS SAMHAIN_.

Harry had been ready to cry with relief when he read that both she and Jamie had been fine. Then horror filled him as realized that an Auror has died. Jake was an Auror. His stomach had clenched and he had wanted to be sick, but then again, there had been 16 Aurors there, two healers, four warders and Kate and Jamie, so, maybe it wasn't him. Plus Cella _would_ have told them, right?

Eventually, about an hour later, Cella has been able to message them that all the Rogues were fine. Listening to Kate's press conferences had been hilarious for him. He knew that she didn't want to be there and so every answer had a double meaning. He had seen her as someone slightly different in that moment as well, however.

She was powerful, the things they were saying about her, well, she reminded him about how they talked about Dumbledore. He hadn't really noticed up until then, but now, he saw it, she was a different personality. He knew her well, but everything just fit with what Dumbledore had been like in the beginning of his career. He hoped she didn't turn out too much like him.

The next two days had been annoyingly long as he waited for them to get back. All the other Rogues had flocked back to wait for them, while Cella was still holed up in the ministry. Then she had come back and said they should be coming in anytime.

It had been an hour later that a weight he didn't know he had been carrying, had been lifted. Last night's dinner had been quiet, but no less cheerful as Kate, Jamie, Jake and even Lily, recounted their tales for the audience. It was then that Kate explained her new way to deal with the unforgivables.

"Wait, so you _froze _the magic around you and forced the spells to stop mid air!?" Cella exclaimed, looking at her best friend like a rare book.

Kate nodded, "Yes, and then I reversed the flow of magic and they were hit with their own spells."

There was a long silence as everybody digested that. "If they had tried to cast another spell at you, would the magic that you need to build up to do it not move as well? Thus rendering them incapable of using magic for the given length of your trick?" Lily asked her.

Kate shrugged, "I have no idea, I suppose it would just depend on if I latched onto their magical cores as well."

She nodded, "I'm going to take you in to test all of this."

"We can't let _anyone _outside the Rogues find out about this."

"Why not!?" Cella demanded, "This could save _thousands _of lives!"

"Could you imagine, Cella, it _everyone _could do this? Magic would basically be moot, unless only powerful wizards and witches could do it. Then if you get a strong Dark Lord, imagine all the damage they could do! They'd be unstoppable." Kate pointed out.

Cella reluctantly admitted she had a point, but this didn't deter Lily. "We can still bring you in for testing, nobody would need to know why, they can't make _me_ tell them, and I won't leave any records."

They had done this before with a few other things so it wouldn't be that big of deal she reasoned. "Ok, fine. I want to work on our dementor killing spell while were there too."

After the wolfsbane, they had made a potions so vampires wouldn't need to drink blood to survive, and now they were working on a spell to kill dementors. Between Kate, Lily, Frankie and Cella, they were helping the wizarding world a lot.

That was where the four of them would run off to after breakfast. Harry pulled out some pots, he was the first one up, so might as well make everyone food. Biscuits and gravy this morning.

About half an hour later, the kitchen was packed with hungry 20 year olds and Harry set a huge platter of biscuits and two pots of gravy in the middle of the large dining table along with four pitchers of orange juice and two bowls of hash browns. The happy grins he got in return made the whole thing worth it.

Breakfast was a loud and rambunctious affair with everyone being fully rested and happy to have their numbers full. The Weasleys didn't make this much noise (though that was probably because Mrs. Weasley didn't allow shouting), Cella and Lily had their heads together (most likely theorizing about Kate), Jake and Jamie were looking a little too smug (Harry would bet a prank war was imminent), Frankie and Kate were half yelling across the table about teaching, and Tiff and Lenna were both absorbed in the papers around them (muttering to themselves). Harry couldn't help but smile fondly, this was what a family looked like, _his _family.

"What's got you looking so happy?" A voice asked to his left. Tiffany was grinning at him and waiting for his answer.

Harry turned, "I'm just happy to be back, it's been too long since we've all been together properly."

She nodded in agreement, "It has been too long, the last time, I believe was before you got your letter. When we were all really living together all day, not just visiting I mean."

"I've missed you guys, I'm not sure I _want _to go back." Harry admitted in a small voice.

Tiffany sighed, "I don't think any of us want it to end, but you don't have much of choice, none of us do."

Harry gave her a frustrated look, "That's the problem! If it wasn't for Voldemort, I wouldn't _have _to go back to being on my own!"

Tiff gave him a sad smile, "No, you would have no need for us."

Harry gaped at her for a moment, he couldn't imagine what he would be like without the Rogues. Probably another Tom Riddle, he was already almost there when they had met him after all. "I think there was a chance we could have known each other anyway." He said.

"Maybe, but either way, you won't be alone this term, you never were." She promised him.

What? Well he hadn't ever really been left alone during school, they'd always been a notebook message away. Kate, Cella, Frankie, and Lily's necklaces, Jamie, Tiff and Kenna's wristbands, his and Jake's watch. Well he supposed with Jake in the Order, Tiff's new restaurant and Jamie's potential team switch, he really would have backup. Especially once Ron and Hermione were in the fold.

"I suppose." He said dubiously.

"It'll work out, you'll see."

_**LATER THAT WEEK**_

Jamie Ross flew to the ground with relief. The game, and season, was _finally_ over. She grinned as her teammates all crowded their seeker, Kim Byung-ho. He had caught the snitch after a fantastic dive to win the game and secure them the number four finishing spot in the league. She, herself, had had a good game, only letting two goals through, unfortunately the same could not be said for their chasers. They had only scored _one _goal, had the seeker not caught the snitch, they'd have lost pretty badly.

She made her way over, smiling anyway, they had won. As they all embraced she couldn't help but feel some sadness at the knowledge that this would be her last game with this team. They, while not the best team, were certainly good and they were all friends. She would miss them, but Harry needed her close, so the English League was where she was going. Even if they were all full of themselves.

The best keeper in the world going there wasn't going to fix the ego problem either. Unfortunately. But she could hurt their egos when nobody scored on her, or at least, that was the plan.

"**Great catch, B!**" She exclaimed in fluent Japanese.

"**Thank you, Jamie! Nice game yourself!**" He called back happily. Several more congratulations were exchanged as they headed back to the locker room.

Jamie was, predictably, pulled away by a few journalists. "**Ms. Ross! Ms. Ross! Can I have a moment of your time?**" One called.

She nodded and resigned herself to a lot of non-quidditch related questions. "**Sure, hold on… I'll meet you later!**" She called to her teammates who nodded as they too, were pulled away.

"**First off, great game today! 32 for 34 on saves, is spectacular, even for someone of your caliber! You seemed to be able to predict a lot of the shots taken today, why do you think that is?**" The reporter asked.

At least they opened on quidditch. "**Thank you, it was a tough game, Hiroshima's a great team, there chasers are some of the best! But today, I was just playing well, Coach Im had us really prepared and studying a lot of film, helped. I was just on today, and noticed several times where they had their hands going away from their eyes and was able to capitalize. It isn't often you get so many good reads, so I just did my best to use them.**" She answered honestly, and was sure to thank everyone else for her success.

"**Rumor has it that you are planning on entering free agency, any comment?**" The reporter asked.

"**Well, I love playing for Tokyo, but I think I want to be a little closer to the US, um, my contract is up now, and I was hoping for a change of scenery… And somewhere where they speak English, hopefully.**" Might as well give out clues now, make it seem like it was a long way coming instead of something more sinister.

"**Well, I'm sure there will be many teams looking for someone like you. Outside of quidditch, everyone has been talking about how you accompanied your sister on the raid to bring down the Dark Lord Samhain. Is there anything you can share about that?**" She had wondered when that would be asked.

"**Obviously, for security reasons, I can't say much, but I was in fact, present as many people have noted. It was not an easy thing and I'm grateful to the Aurors and everyone who helped the mission succeed, as well as for the chance to hopefully do some good for the world.**" Jamie answered her well rehearsed response, one that was completely true and gave away nothing.

"**I think I speak for everyone when I give you and your sister my most heartfelt thanks and wish you the best of luck wherever you decide to go. Thank you for your time, Ms. Ross.**" They were done!

"**Thank you, Kwang.**" She answered him and nodded as they shook hands and she made her way to the locker room.

As soon as she entered she was met with Coach Im and the team general manager, Aki Mohoto.

"You are not going to renew your contract? And there is nothing we can do to change your mind?" Mohoto asked in perfect English.

She nodded, "I want to expand my horizons, it has been an honor to play for such a great team, but I think it is time I move on with my career."

He nodded and gave a pained sigh, "If you are sure."

"I am, thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity, however." Jamie said sincerely.

AN: Please feel free to REVIEW!


	10. Chapter 10: Hogsmeade and Hogwarts

Chapter 10: Hogsmeade and Hogwarts

It wasn't too long before Jamie had all of her stuff packed and her affairs in order (Kate had done most of it already), and she was taking a portkey back to the States. About an hour later, she was walking through the front door of the main house at Ross Ranch.

It was suspiciously silent, especially considering Kate, Lily, Jake, and Frankie were all supposed to be home. Kate, Lily and Cella had already thoroughly tested Kate's magical freezer, as they called it, and come to the conclusion that it could literally reshape any magic it was connected to. Assuming they had more willpower than the caster, and the understanding of what need to change and how, any person above a 1200 on the Merlin scale could do it. So only Kate, Drake, Dumbledore and Voldemort.

A prank war had also broken out with the teams being Kate, Cella, and Harry vs. Jake and herself. They had instigated it by turning all of them an offensively bright, yellow for a full day, and making it so wherever they walked or anything they touched, would end up marked in yellow. They had been furious and responded by turning them both into fish and sticking them in a bucket in the sink with no way to undo it. Jamie and Jake had set up alarm clocks in their rooms for every three minutes starting at a ripe 4am. For two hours. Then they had responded with Harry and Kate somehow mixing Orajel into their tooth paste and causing their mouths to go completely numb. It all spiraled downhill from there.

Jamie put all of her stuff in her room, grabbed a bag of chips from the pantry and went looking for her friends. She found them a few minutes later in the duelling room.

Apparently, in the three weeks Harry had been there, he had gotten Occlumency down to where he had to do it himself. So Kate had changed their lessons to duelling. Or rather her yelling at him while Jake/Lily/Frankie beat up on him. He was getting better, somehow, and Kate was considering testing him on the Merlin scale.

They were at it again, and Harry was rolling around while Jake shot spells at him, he weaved and dodged and put up shields, only firing back on occasion. It took Jake about 20 minutes of completely over power him. He got up panting.

"I'm never going to be able to take on Voldemort! I can't even beat _one_ of you! And Kate can beat all three of you! All at once! And _she _isn't sure she could beat him!" He exclaimed in frustration.

Jamie couldn't help but pity him slightly. Kate was arguably the greatest Dueller of all time, she (Jamie), Jake and Cella were, when they were fighting together, 3 wins and 7 losses against her. Jake and Jamie were about a match for each other. Lily and Cella were powerful, but not inclined to duel more than necessary. Tiff, while a talented Dueller, was only of average power. Kenna was neither inclined to duel or powerful enough to make up for her lack of experience. Frankie was above average in power and duelling skill but not spectacular in either.

Harry, while powerful, wasn't at his full potential, nor did he have even half the duelling experience of all the other Rogues. He could beat a student at this point, and most of your average wizards, but no Auror or death eater. At least Kenna could hold her own against both parties long enough for someone to rescue her. Harry was almost there, however.

Kate told him something similar, "Harry, you are far better than anyone your age, except for me. I am on, or above, the level of Dumbledore, so why would you expect to beat me? Jake is one of the most highly trained fighters in the world! Lily is at the top of the magical power spectrum, and Cella is could best most Aurors in a duel anyday! And Frankie would make a strong Auror herself! Most death eaters couldn't stand up to them! You've only been at it for a few _days_."

"But I need to be able to take on _Voldemort_! I can't do that if I can't beat the death eaters!" He argued.

Kate sighed, "Harry, don't hold yourself up to me, I'm a freak of nature, I'm already a match for Dumbledore, it's not normal, it never was. Literally Kenna is the most normal fighter between everyone here."

Harry gaped at her, "I-you aren't a freak of nature! Your… _you_."

She smiled slightly at him, "I am me, and me is a freak of nature, it's part of who I am, I'm proud of it. Now, Jamie, I want you to have a full on duel with Harry. Harry, if you can beat her, you can take any death eater easy."

Jamie blinked in surprise, Kate hadn't even turned to her, she shouldn't have even known she was there, but it _was _her sister. "Fine, move out of the way freak."

Kate glared at her, "Harry, wipe the floor with this weakling."

He, of course, did not do so. He did a good job, but he simply wasn't as practiced with duelling movements and couldn't get spells off fast enough. His reflexes were fast, very fast, but he wasn't moving with practiced ease, and had to think too much. He also didn't seem to know many ways of reading an opponent or predicting and identifying spells being thrown at him. She voiced all this at the end, and Kate admitted that that was what they were trying to fix.

Thankfully, Kate choose to end the lesson there and everyone scattered to do their own thing.

_**FIRST WEEK OF JULY**_

Harry grinned as he glanced around the familiar high street of Hogsmeade. He was under the heavy glamours he wore when going to Kate's dueling tournaments as a kid, aged appropriately, as he followed his equally disguised friends to the newest restaurant on the block, Rogue's Rendezvous. Tiffany's new bakery/cafe was having its grand opening today and Jamie, Jake, Kenna and he had decided it was a good place for lunch. Kate was out doing something "top secret" and Cella and Lily were at work. Frankie had taken the opportunity to get some work done at Ilvermorny herself.

The restaurant was buzzing with activity as they entered. The outside was done with the standard wood that made it distinctly Hogsmeade, but the interior was different. The floor was polished wood and the walls a homey brick. When you walked in, there was a large counter in front where all of the pastries were in a display case and a cash register stood to take orders. The room opened to the right into the dining area which was covered in tables and chairs to seat yourself after you ordered at the counter. The restaurant, like the one in New York, served pastries as well as sandwiches, soups, salads, and pies (chicken pot and steak and kidney type pies).

As he glanced around, he noticed, to his horror, that Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Hagrid and Madam Hooch were seated in one corner having lunch.

When he pointed this out, Jake just laughed at him and then dragged them to a booth right next to them, but thankfully out of their line of sight. He glared at his laughing lunchmates and buried himself in a corner while they waited for their food. Harry had ordered a steak and kidney pie with a butter beer, while the other orders had been a reuben, grilled cheese with tomato soup, and a herbology salad (think garden salad with magical veggies).

The service was fast and the runner was someone Harry vaguely recognized as a 7th year Ravenclaw. He made sure to avoid paying any attention to him, so as not to risk being recognized as either Harry Potter or Liam Ross.

They all took their precious time eating and Tiffany came by to talk to them and a few other tables.

"Good so far?" She asked them brightly.

Nods came from all the way around. "Great as always, Tiff." Kenna complemented. "How's business so far?"

"Good, but it will slow down once the curiosity is over with, but I hope I get a few regulars, most people seem to like it." She answered with a smile.

Harry was happy for her. Even if she was only opening this restaurant to give the Rogues a base in Hogsmeade, she still took a lot of pride in its success. "Did you hire a lot of students?"

She nodded, "For the summer, mostly, but I have plenty of adult staff to work the rest of the year and a special Hogsmeade weekend staff."

"That's smart, everyone is over run on those weekends." Harry confirmed.

"If you ever need a popularity boost, I'm sure Jamie Ross can stop by as well." Jamie added with a grin, "Especially if she's moving out here."

That particular rumor had been fed, via Witch Weekly, to the entire world at this point. It was a constant source of speculation and just about every team in the league had offered her a job. Even the Chudley Cannons, which would thrill Ron because she was actually considering it.

"Oh yes, that would be great publicity." Tiff agreed with a slight smirk. "Well I had better be going, enjoy your meal!"

With that she wandered off to another table as they finished up their food and went for dessert. This included treacle tart, chocolate cake, cookies, brownies, and blueberry pie for all of them. It was a good lunch until, as they were finishing dessert, the Malfoy family walked in.

Noses in the air as if the whole place was below them, all three of them walked to the register, their conversation loud enough for all to hear.

"Not exactly up to normal standards, but I suppose we should give it a try…" Lucius was saying.

"Father, they serve _muggle _food here." Draco complained.

Harry wanted to smack the smug look of his little face. The stupid ferret. It was about then that Tiffany came to the counter herself.

"Not muggle food, young man, but _American _food, magical America." She corrected, "As well as British wizarding foods."

He sneered at her but she brushed it off, "What would you like today?" She asked them politely. Harry wanted to throw up in his mouth, imagining having to be _nice _and _serve _the _Malfoys_. Tiff was a trooper that was for sure. He owed her so much for doing something like this to help him.

"I hope you are of the _right _sort?" Malfoy Sr asked her. The _gall_ of him!

She gave him a look that clearly spoke what Harry had been thinking. "If you are referring to my parents, than I have not had a no-maj in my family for over 200 years." She didn't happen to mention that that hadn't been on purpose, nor had they all been pure bloods. "Have you decided what you shall have then?" She asked them again.

"I shall have, a herbology salad and a glass of water." Malfoy's mother said with a smaller than normal amount of disdain.

Malfoy Sr looked slightly more approving as well, "I think a simple Shepherd's pie with mulled mead."

Harry was half expecting him to refuse to get _any_ "peasant" food.

Draco also ordered, to Harry's surprise. "A tripe sandwich and pumpkin juice, for myself."

She nodded and rang them up before telling them to sit anywhere they like. They pretended not to notice the Hogwarts Professors as they stayed themselves and Harry decided they had spent too much time in Malfoy infested ground. "Let's bounce guys."

They did so within two minutes.

_**SAME DAY AT HOGWARTS**_

Kate Ross grinned slightly as she looked at the gorgeous castle of Hogwarts. She had been here twice before, once with Drake to meet with Dumbledore and another time by herself to talk with fellow duelling champion, Filius Flitwick. The former Dueller was a lot of fun to be around and gave great advice to her 14 year old self.

But neither Drake nor Flitwick had any part in her reason for visiting today. No, today she was here for an interview with Dumbledore. If she managed to land this, Harry would be _stunned _on September 1st. Imagining the look on his face when he saw her made her want to laugh out loud. She stood at the gates for a moment before waving her wand like the Headmaster had told her to let them know she was here.

She had sent in her application two days ago and Dumbledore had responded that same day, sounding thrilled to have her apply. She would be relieved too, after the string of professors he'd enjoyed in previous years. Something she hoped to remedy by seeing if the position was actually cursed. If it was then she would, of course, discreetly remove it.

A few minutes later, a large man walked up to the front of the gate. He was at least 10 ft tall, with wild black hair and a black mane like beard. He had warm black eyes and a kind face, Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of the keys and grounds, and care of magical creatures Professor. Half Giant as well. He matched Harry's description perfectly.

"Who're you?" Hagrid asked her suspiciously.

If Harry's descriptions were accurate, and she had no doubt they were, then he was a really only mean _looking_ but a teddy bear once you got to know him. This was also the guy who had the dragon they picked up a few years back.

"Hi, I'm Kate Ross, I'm here for an interview with Dumbledore for the DADA position." She told him.

This made him soften slightly, although he still looked suspicious. She couldn't blame him, after the last few years, she knew she would have to win everyone over. It was ok, though, but she wasn't sure if she was going to enjoy teaching.

"Oh, well then, welcome teh 'Ogwarts, Ms. Ross." He greeted pleasantly as he opened the gate.

"Thank you, Mr.?" She ended it like a question.

"Rubeus Hagrid, keeper o' the keys and grounds of 'Ogwarts, and care of magical creatures 'fessor." He introduced, "Bu' call me Hagrid, everyone does."

"Nice to meet you, Hagrid, call me Kate." She offered her hand and he shook it with a large smile.

She fought a wince as he crushed her hand, but smiled at his enthusiasm. Well, at least he liked her. They began the trek up to the castle together.

"Where yeh from Kate?" He asked, "I don' think I've ever seen yeh here 'fore, and yeh sound funny."

"I'm from the States, and I went to Ilvermorny, I've only been here twice." Kate answered him.

"Ilvermorny, eh? Tha's a good school, from wha' I've 'eard. Not as good as 'Ogwarts, course, but none are." He mused.

Kate, naturally, took offense on behalf of her school. "It is the best magic school in the world."

"Tha's Hogwarts!" Hagrid said, "Got the best teachers an' 'eadmaster." He reasoned.

"Not all of them, Ilvermorny has several of the top masters and mistresses of magic in the world. Of course, I could help Hogwarts there." Kate pointed out. Hogwarts was one of the best magic schools in the world, and whether they were better or not than Ilvermorny was always a debate and usually depended on the current batch of students.

"Oh yeah? What do yeh got a mastery in?" He asked her sounding genuinely curious.

It was about then that she realized he probably had no idea _who_ he was talking to. It was rather a refreshing break from all the star stuck looks and brown nosing. "I am a master cursebreaker." She told him seriously.

"Yer a master cursebreaker? But yeh look so young and they're so rare!" He exclaimed.

She nodded, "Yep, I'm a quick study so I got through my apprenticeship quickly."

"I'll be darned! Yeh must be pretty 'owerful teh get one o' those!" He observed, "I personally like me magical creatures."

"I like creatures too, but I'm better with spell work than potions or plants and animals." Kate admitted, she was passable, she had to be, but she wasn't as good with that stuff as she was with duelling.

"Well, if yeh get the job, which I think yeh will, come by me hut, and we can talk s'more about 'em." He sounded quite excited at the prospect of having someone to discuss magical creatures with.

Kate thought he was a nice man, and he had helped Harry, so she was happy to oblige as they slowed next to a stone gargoyle. "I'd be happy to." She told him sincerely.

"Great! I'll see yeh around, Kate." He told her and then turned to the statue, "Blood pops"

That appeared to be the password for the gargoyle spring aside and revealed a stone staircase, to which she gave the half giant a cheerful farewell, and bounded on up.


	11. Chapter 11: The Interview

Chapter 11: The Interview

Kate knocked on the wooden door using the griffin knocker and waited to be invited in. A soft, decidedly male voice told her to enter.

When she did, she stepped into a circular room with a lot of widows and portraits, probably former headmasters. The walls were brimming with books and there were many trinkets whirring and spinning on various tables around the room. It was a rather interesting office, but she did not dwell on it as she focused on the large clawfoot desk in front of her and the old man sitting behind it.

Albus Dumbledore look exactly as she remembered. Old, tall, thin, long silver hair and beard with twinkling blue eyes and a permanently kind look, though it was hard not to wonder how faked it was, no one could look like that and leave Harry to his aunt and uncle. She could nevertheless, sense his ever present aura floating comfortably around him, a reminder for those that could sense it, of his immense magical power. She knew he could sense hers as well, and she had to admit, hers was a tad stronger than his, and he was stronger than Drake.

She gave him a cheerful smile as she walked up to him. He stood, with a large smile of his own, and came around the desk to meet her. "It is good to see you again, my dear, and I was most pleasantly surprised you applied for the defense post." He offered her a hand.

She shook his hand firmly and without hesitation. "It has been a while, and I am happy you are considering me despite my age."

He didn't have much of a choice, it was her or whatever ministry lackey Fudge could send to spy on him. She was as good, if not better than him, at magic, had a mastery in curse breaking, was a bonafide Dueller and potentially an ally against Voldemort, it was no competition and today was a formality, they both knew it. Even if he didn't know she knew it.

"Well, there have been younger teachers, Professor Snape, the potions instructor was younger when he started, for example. But please, take a seat." He told her reassuringly.

She did not want to be compared to Snape, not after what she'd heard and remembered about him. She complied anyway, smiling politely.

"Let's begin," he said cheerfully, "Why do you think you can teach defense against the dark arts?"

Kate, expecting these types of questions, and relieved they were relatively normal and on topic, answered easily. "Besides being a 7 time International duelling champion and freelance warder, I have a mastery in curse breaking from Drake Herr. I have tutored several people for their DADA OWL, NEWT, bachelor, and mastery tests as well as having taken and received an O on all of them myself. All of those students, I have included a list, passed the test they were preparing with me for, many with Outstandings."

"Your resume is impressive, but what would you teach to students whom have never used magic before? What is the content you plan on teaching to each year?"

"It would depend on what they have learned, but assuming I had taught them their entire careers, I would focus on basic theories and spell with first and second years, more practical bases in second. I would introduce the very basic creatures as well with an emphasis of safety for both years more than the others. For third years, I want to focus more on how to deal with magical creatures properly, and spells to counter them. Fourth year would be the year to add the the spell inventory as far as both offensive and defensive. Fifth year would, of course, focus more on what is required to obtain a defense OWL, but I would also add beginning the basics of duelling techniques as well as real world application for what they have already learned. Sixth year I would like to cover the dark arts and silent casting more in-depth and show them what they are up against. I would most likely want to incorporate a few history lessons as well. Seventh year's will be reviewing for NEWTs, learning about careers, the basics of warding and adding other subjects into creating a full blown duelling style." She concluded having thought about this already.

"Impressive, but how would you ensure that your curriculum would not be used in inappropriate ways?" Dumbledore asked, sounding rather happy so far.

"Inside of Hogwarts, I could keep a strict eye on things like duelling and dark arts myself as well as make it clear that these things are dangerous. I would plan on serious consequences for those that abuse what I am teaching them. After Hogwarts, while I cannot control their actions, I would hope to have made it clear that the dark arts are not an acceptable career path and the consequences of such things are no longer detentions and lost house points. I would also remind those more inclined to the dark side of magic that, historically, they never end up better off."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at that and then he nodded sadly, "True words, and something many seem to forget when they join the death eaters."

Kate made a noise of agreement, "While nothing can ever truly justify joining, nor should it, Lord Voldemort can be quite persuasive from what I hear."

Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly at her use of his name, "Many would call you a fool for such a casual utterance of that name."

Kate gave him a serious look, "There is no point in fearing that name, all it does is give him more power."

Dumbledore agreed with her, "That is too true, what would you do if a student was forcibly removed from the school by a death eater?" He asked, the tone of the conversation having fallen into serious territory.

"I think the first thing I would do, would be to, alert another staff member then if it was still possible, go after the kidnapper. But if they had already gone, I would, assuming you call a meeting, report to wherever I am required, inform the aurors, and then try to confirm the whereabouts of the rest of the students, and suggest you lockdown the castle. Once all the other students were safe, I would insure the parents were informed, then begin attempts to rescue said student."

"Why did you apply for this job?" He asked her looking genuinely curious.

She shrugged, "I needed something to do, honestly, I'm bored without duelling everyday and I can't go back to that because it simply wasn't fair, I was 2,116 and 8 on wins to losses in 7 years. Drake always said I was good at teaching and Hogwarts had the open spot, plus it's supposed to be an interesting place." Not a lie but not the complete truth, she neglected to mention Harry or the Rogues.

He nodded, "Could you swear on your magic that you are who you claim to be and do not in anyway serve Voldemort or Tom Riddle, nor do you wish harm on any resident of the castle, student or staff?" Well, at least he learns from experience.

Could she though? She certainly meant to protect most of them, she didn't ever plan on doing anything for Voldemort, she was who she said she was. But the death eaters in the castle, well Snape was a spy so she wanted to help him… yes, she could, there were no student death eaters.

She shrugged and stood, raising her wand, "I, Katherine Amelia Ross, hereby swear on my magic that I am Katherine Amelia Ross, and I do not, nor will I ever knowingly or willing assist or join Voldemort in any way or form. I also swear that I do not wish nor intend to harm any student, staff, or other residents of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So mote it be."

The magic of the vow swirled around the room for a second before settling down and Kate quietly lit her wand to show she still had her considerable magical power. The vow did not stop her from breaking it in the future, but it did prove her intentions of this moment, except for the join Voldemort part where she expressly said she wouldn't.

There was a beaming smile on Dumbledore's face as she extinguished her wand again. He nodded at her gratefully, "Thank you, my dear. You are most definitely hired."

She did not need to force a smile here, "Thank you, sir."

He waved her off, "You may be the most qualified defense teacher Hogwarts has had in 50 years, as well as the most powerful witch I have ever met, please, call me Albus."

"Then call me Kate, Albus. Do you want to iron out the details now?" She responded easily.

"Might as well." He opened up a drawer and pulled out several parchments, one of which she recognized as her application. "This is the teaching contract, and it is good for one year. It basically says you will teach here for the whole school year, follow the teaching guidelines and do your duties to the school. In exchange you will receive 2,500 Galleons a month base salary, and free accommodations should you require them."

He slid it across the desk to her and she read it over quickly before nodding, "Sounds good, where do I sign?"

He offered her a quill and ink and she quickly scrawled her name where required and gave the paper back to the Headmaster who signed it below her. "Thank you, now this is a list of guidelines and duties for teachers here, this is a map of the school, as you are new to Hogwarts, this booklet is the school rules, and this is the calendar for the year, with all the staff meetings, Hogsmeade weekends and such on it. All of your duties are scheduled under 'DADA Prof.' as we did not know who it would be at the time."

She nodded, "I will read up on all of this, where is my classroom, office and quarters?"

"Well you have an option here, there are two possible classrooms that have been used for DADA, a class on the third floor with a most interesting dragon skeleton hanging from the rafters, it is located in a tower and the office is on the up a staircase into the classroom. There is another access on the fourth floor as well. The other option is a second floor classroom with a duelling platform, your office would be next door and have another entrance from the hall."

"Does the third floor have windows?" Kate asked as if this was the most important part.

"Yes, all along the side facing the grounds, is that the preferred location?" Albus asked her.

"I believe so, what do I need to bring by way of furniture?" She asked.

"Your quarters are a fully furnished apartment, you will need to bring your own books, and personal items, but the furnishings will be provided. The apartment has a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen with a dining table and a living room. They are accessible by another set of stairs concealed by a secret door in your office and technically located on the fifth floor. The only way to get there is via the office."

She nodded, "Are all of the professors quarters off their office?"

Albus nodded, "Yes, once you retire for the night, anytime someone knocks on your door, an alarm will go off in your bedroom to alert you."

"Ok, and all meals are taken…?"

"In the Great Hall on the first floor, the map will explain everything you need to know as a professor, it may also help you if you move in early so you aren't as lost when term begins." He recommended.

"That's probably for the better." She conceded. It would be hard to explain to Harry without ruining the surprise, but she had gone on missions and stuff before so he shouldn't question it too much.

"Now, I do believe it is lunchtime, today is a teacher workday for the staff, would you care to join us? I can introduce you, if you'd like."

"Why not? I might as well start learning the castle now." She agreed with a shrug. She had time before she had to be back. They both stood.

"Excellent, right this way." He held the door open for her.

Kate made sure to remember, or try to, the location of the Great Hall. During the walk, Albus ran over a brief history of her predecessors, starting with the Professor before Quirrell. Kate couldn't help but laugh as she heard what happened to all of them, despite having already known all of it.

After, he gave her a run down of the houses, their rivalries and how the house system worked at Hogwarts. They went over the other subjects taught as well as ghosts, Peeves and other residents like house elves, centaurs and paintings. He also explained the founders and some of the castles history while she asked questions that eventually got him to spill the chamber of secrets story.

It was much less watered down than what Harry had told her, and she was torn between horrified and impressed. She asked several questions that got her warnings about secret passages, fake doors, trick steps and active staircases as well as a few other quirks. She had to admit the castle sounded like a lot of fun to live in, if a little tedious from time to time.

When they reached the large doors of the Great Hall, Albus stepped forward to lead the way, but not before warning her, "After the last few defense professors, the rest of the staff is quite suspicious of any newcomers, so you have to forgive them if they are a little cold. They should warm up to you in time, I will tell them about the magical oath you swore."

She nodded, again neither surprised or blaming them in the least. He pushed the door open and entered with her lagging a step behind.

When they entered all chatter stopped and Kate recognized Filius giving her a confused look as they made their way to the table.

"How did the interview go?" A tallish older women with black and grey hair tied into a loose bun and casual robes asked. She wore glasses and had the distinct air of someone who was not to be trifled with. Professor McGonagall, Maybe? She had only ever seen her at a transfiguration conference once with Frankie, so she didn't really remember her. But Harry had described all of his teachers colorfully.

Albus gave her a beaming smile, "Splendidly, Minerva." Yep, Minerva McGonagall.

"And what is Ms. Ross doing here?" A man with a place face, hooked nose, greasy black hair tied into a ponytail and a black button up muggle shirt asked. Severus Snape. Lily and he had collaborated a while back and they had met then.

"I would like to introduce you all to our new defense against the dark arts instructor, Kate Ross." He told the table happily. "She has taken a magical oath as to her genuinity and proof of identity."

There were several exclamations of surprise at his announcement, Kate Ross, come teach at Hogwarts!?

"Hello!" She said pleasantly and sat in the seat Albus pulled out for here with a "thanks".

"What brings you here to teach, Ms. Ross?" A plump lady with shortish brown hair, a kind smile and dirty work robes, asked.

"Lack of a job." She said with an ironic smile, "I don't need the money, but I need something to do."

"Ah, boredom, welcome to Hogwarts then, Professor Ross."

"Please call me Kate, Professor-?"

"Pomona Sprout, but call me Pomona." She told her cheerfully.

"Pomona" she repeated, "What subject do you teach?" She asked her. "Herbology?"

She gave her a surprise smile, "How did you-?"

"Heard your name before, so I figured that was probably what you would be teaching." She explained, "And I assume Severus still teaches potions?"

"Yes, he does." Pomona frowned slightly at the thought of her younger colleague.

From what Kate had been able to tell, he wanted to teach DADA, but he wasn't so serious about it that he would hijack a good teacher, provided he actually liked said teacher. "Filius teaches charms, I remember him saying, and is that Minerva McGonagall I recognize?" She continued, knowing Snape was a sensitive topic for some.

Pomona brightened a little as she nodded affirmative, "She teaches Transfiguration, and is deputy Headmistress as well as head of Gryffindor. Filius is head of Ravenclaw and Severus, Slytherin."

"Gryffindor is the brave ones in red, right? And Ravenclaw is smart and blue, Slytherin is cunning and green and Hufflepuff is hard working, loyal and yellow, right?" She asked her.

"Yes, that is the theory anyway, I am head of Hufflepuff." She said proudly.

"Cool, I've met a few older and/or former Hogwarts students in duelling competitions." Kate mentioned off handedly.

Pomona looked really sad for some reason, why-?

"Cedric really loved professional duelling, he was a huge fan of yours, always said you inspired him."

The table went really quiet at that pronouncement from her, and many teachers tensed slightly, looking somber. They also looked mildly surprised Pomona had said anything. Cedric...Diggory! He was the Hufflepuff from the Tournament, and she was the head of Hufflepuff, so his death probably hit her the hardest. That explained the guarded and mildly threatening looks she was ignoring from everyone else.

Kate wasn't sure what to say, but Pomona seemed to have it hand all by herself. "Sorry, dear, it's just, hard, I'm not sure if you heard… the way the prophet is covering it… a student, Cedric Diggory, was… he was murdered at the end of last year… he was triwizard champion for Hogwarts… in Hufflepuff…"

"I did hear about that, it was a sad thing to hear. I remember meeting him once, when I was 15, he couldn't have been more than 10 or 11 at the time, at an international duelling final. I gave him my second wand holster after that match… and an autographed picture I think. Last December he asked me for another one in red and gold, for someone else."

She remembered it quite clearly actually, she hadn't known what to do with all the hero worship, but he'd been thrilled when she'd given it to him. Black with, International Duelling Final: Ross, Team USA stitched into the side of it in yellow, one of like four she had ever given out. She had given it to him because he said it was of the colors of the house he wanted to get into a school, Hufflepuff, and clearly, he got his wish.

Last year, he had owled her several weeks before Christmas and asked her if he could have another one if red and gold, with the same thing. She had, knowing what it was for, sent him two, one black with yellow stitching saying Triwizard Tournament: Champion Diggory, Hogwarts and another one with Potter instead of Diggory in red leather with gold stitching. She had gotten perhaps the most enthusiastic thank you note of all time, but had never told Harry, who she'd seen wearing it.

Pomona gave a beaming, of watery smile, "He was so proud of that wand holster, he had another made just like it with his own name for the tournament." She told her.

Kate nodded, "And one for a Harry Potter, as a Christmas gift."

She gave her a very surprised look and most of the table was staring at her, completely floored, "Custom professional grade wand holsters are very easy for me to get ahold of, I simply try to keep that fact quiet." She supplied, "And he asked nicely."

"You don't know how much that meant to him, he talked about it for weeks, but never said how he got them, thank you, Kate, I think you made his Christmas by doing that."

She waved it off, "He was a nice guy and I hear Potter's the same age as Liam."

"That he was." Albus said quietly, looking quite sad himself. "But enough of that sad talk, it's lunchtime, does anyone else have questions for Professor Ross?"

Before anyone could get their question out, she said, "Call me Kate, please, everyone, and I don't know who all of you are…"

She had them won over by remembering Cedric, and then gotten all of them to like her (even Snape grudgingly) as she fielded questions about her career, apprenticeship with Drake, school days (minus Harry and the Rogues), and recent defeat of Samhain. She didn't have to act, really, just be herself and avoid the Rogues as conversation. Simple.

The first official staff meeting wouldn't be for another two weeks and all she had to do between now and then, was come up with a syllabus, find a textbook, and make a list of things she'd need in her classroom.

AN:: Please feel free to REVIEW!


	12. Chapter 12: Drake Time

Chapter 12: Drake Time

THIRD WEEK OF JULY (TWO WEEKS LATER)

Tiffany's restaurant continued its success as she focused on Hogsmeade with Jamie manning her store in New York. Jamie was spending her time between covering Tiffany, working on quidditch with Harry, and entertaining offers from various quidditch teams in Canada and Britain. Lily returned to work full time as Harry's counseling sessions slowed, he had made enough progress that they were all comfortable with twice a week. Occlumency was completely finished for the boy-who-lived as Kate deemed him "ready to take on Voldemort himself". As such, he no longer had visions, scar pains or nightmares, so was quite happy.

Frankie and Kate secretly worked on a syllabus and began to go over books that could be used as the official text, quietly perusing Harry's shelves for books already on the list. Kate spent the rest of her time messing around, working on her own projects or training Harry for a few hours a day. He was making progress. Kenna was once again out of the country, to cover the Ms. Wizarding World Beauty Pageant in Moscow, Russia. Cella was, naturally, swamped in work. Fudge was stirring up more trouble by trying to enquire about hiring processes in other magical schools, most likely trying to find a way to insert his own lackey in Hogwarts. Everyone knew this and Cella was actively blocking him, but they knew eventually he would succeed.

Jake was attending his order meetings and had upped his guard duty shift to everyday from midnight to 6am. He was currently going to bed at about 4 in the afternoon to wake up at midnight (Montana time) and then go about his day, but he was happy and doing fine.

It was this routine, where everyone was based out of Ross Ranch, that Drake paid a visit one evening at dinner. Harry was quite confused as to the reason until conversations started after he was settled.

"What have you lot been planning that requires my expertise, specifically?" He asked them, not bothering to beat around the bush, he was looking directly at his former apprentice.

"Several things, actually." Kate said flatly. "We need some help hiding from Alastor Moody's magical eye, both close and long range, a source in the Death Eaters, and someone else to test Harry's Occlumency shields." She told him.

"Hmm. Death Eaters? I'll give you reports myself, I know a guy who can be bought out, or scared into submission…"

"Not Wormtail!?" Harry demanded with hate burning in his eyes.

"Pettigrew? No, someone else, she isn't much of a willing death eater…" he trailed off and nobody wanted to ask further questions.

"As for Moody's eye, put a fiedlus on an invisibility cloak, he won't even know its there and thus won't be able to see under it. You'll still be able to interact with the outside world as long as the secret keeper isn't under the cloak trying to interact with anyone." He supplied looking like they were all dense.

Kate and Cella both smacked themselves, so maybe they were being dense.

"I'd do a whole day with Harry, when is he free?" Drake asked.

"Tomorrow, I'm going with Jake for his DADA mastery test and Kate has a job she's trying to land so she can be busy during the school year without Harry." Frankie said with a smirk at Kate's direction. They had agreed that they would say she got a job because it would be too easy to connect it to Hogwarts with the other things they were up to.

Harry was torn between upset that he was getting no say in his own days (and essentially a babysitter) and curious about Kate's potential new job. "What job?" He asked at last.

Kate gave him a small smile, "Nothing too interesting, a lot of paperwork and basic Dark Arts stuff, but I'm trying because it's closer to you than Ross Ranch."

"Thanks." He said feeling something warm grow in his chest. Kate hated paperwork, she preferred to be out in the action, so for her to take some basic paper pushing job, just so she could be closer to him… probably some sort of ministry employee.

"It's no biggie." She said, "Thank Drake, he doesn't like spending time with people."

"Thanks Drake, for your very large sacrifice of 20 minutes to protect my mind from Voldemort." Harry drawled sarcastically. He was grateful, actually, but Drake could never know that.

"It was a large sacrifice." he grunted, "And it'll be a whole day of drinking and doing nothing, gone, just gone. And protection from Dumbledore too, duffer."

Duffer. A nickname from Drake, who had given Harry about 6 lessons in the 10 years they'd known each other, one of which was on making pillow forts.

The other lessons from Drake were, in order, how to throw a spiral and how to watch American football, how to make a s'more, how to fish, how to ask a girl out and the 'base system', and how to tie a tie and shave. All things he claimed every proper man should know, and much more useful than what his uncle described as a proper man. They were also things that made him smile sadly, his dad should have taught him these things. Dad had covered important lessons in being a male, more so than Drake, but at least they had taken the time to do it.

But that wasn't the crux of the problem, "Dumbledore?" He asked.

Kate nodded, "Albus Dumbledore is a very capable legilimens, he can steal secrets from your mind, and you would never know. Thankfully, we are still secret due to a protection spell I placed on your memories of us, one that I know hasn't allowed anyone to see us. I will take it off if Drake think later your Occlumency is good enough."

Drake nodded, "It would be years, if ever, before you could repel a full attack by Dumbledore or Snape, but you should be able to hold off for a while and give yourself a chance to break the spell. Physical blocks or distractions for the attacker work well."

"SNAPE!?" Harry exploded. "He can read minds and he's still done… acted like-like that!"

Drake nodded, "Oh yes, Severus Snape is quite the Occlumens and Legilimens."

Harry wasn't sure whether he was more outraged that Snape had spent the last four years reading his mind, or that he'd still treated Harry the way he had, despite knowing better.

"That git! He accused us of so many things! Made fun of me, of Neville, Hermione, and he knew all along that it wasn't true!" Harry fumed.

"He won't get away with it anymore, because we are going to teach you how to make it look like you don't know Occlumency, when you are in fact shielding your mind. It's more advanced, but we think you can do it, and it'll keep this summer's activities a secret." Kate told him with a reassuring half smile. "We'll be teaching Ron and Hermione this too, so you all can get up to your normal shenanigans and not get caught."

"Which we fully expect to include pranks this year!" Jamie cut in.

The whole table cheered at that, and Harry laughed, "If the wizarding world could you see you all now, what would they think…?"

THE NEXT DAY HARRY'S TEST

"Ready to go kid?" Drake asked him as he walked in the training room that morning.

Drake was standing by a rack of weapons and was examining one particular sword very closely.

"Yes, sir." He said, anticipation creeping into his voice. Only Kate could claim to have gotten a lesson in magic from Drake Herr, Hermione would be green with envy. It was like getting a lesson from Dumbledore.

"Then let's start with the warm ups, then we'll go through some duelling stuff. We can do Occlumency after lunch, and if we have time, I'll teach you to apparate. Don't tell Kate though." He said with a grin.

Harry had wondered what surprises Drake would have in store for him today, he never did do anything by the book. "Sounds good to me!" He answered with a grin of his own.

"Alright then, follow my lead." He waved him over.

They started with a few easy stretches before jogging around, high knees, butt kickers, lunges karaokes, and ski jumps. He wasn't quite sweating when they were done, but he was definitely loose.

"Mirror me, you should recognize most of these." He ordered and then fell into a basic duelling stance and spelled a straight line on the floor below them.

Harry did the same. A basic stance included your body sideways with your feet shoulder width apart and knees bent comfortably. The front foot, on your wand side, was pointed straight forward and the back foot, was pointing sideways to create a 90° angle. Balancing the weight evenly between the balls of your feet and heels was key when starting and then switched from balls for moving to heels for large spell movements. Your weight was leaning forward unless you were dodging and not moving your feet. Back was to remain straight and your wand pointing at the chest of you opponent while your other hand was out of the way or balancing you.

From there Drake back peddled on the line perfectly and Harry advanced front foot then back. Careful to stay on the line, Harry mirrored the wand movements Drake was making as well. Most of them were generic and were used with many spells.

Quite suddenly, Drake charged forwards and Harry was forced to back peddle, mirroring his wand movements again. This went on for at least half an hour with Drake making comments every so often and asking questions about what the others had taught him.

It was quite a shock when Drake suddenly dropped into a roll sideways but Harry followed. After that he hit a back handspring, to which Harry did a front before he was forced to go back again. A one handed cartwheel later he was standing again. This didn't last for long as he did a front dip then back flip before into what Kate had called an aerial. He followed dutifully.

He wasn't as graceful, but he could do it, and was honestly surprised Drake could. "Let's stop before I break my back." He grunted.

Harry wondered absently if Voldemort or Dumbledore could do that. He knew Kate could do much more than that, but that she was a professional. They probably could at some point, but Dumbledore was more likely than Voldemort.

After that, they got some water and discussed a few non-duelling related things, mainly quodpot standings. Harry only knew enough to appease Jamie, Jake, Kate and Drake, and nothing more. Which meant he knew how to play, most of the teams that were notably good or bad, and the best players.

He listened dutifully as Drake talked odds for the upcoming season, as well as expressed his disappointment that the league would be losing Jamie, one of the best players.

Thankfully, they got back to duelling quickly. Drake ran him through his paces with spell chains, target practice and silent casting. It was tough because he was tough, but Harry enjoyed it immensely and realized just how much better he'd gotten. He was given another break and told to ready himself while Drake began to cast stronger safety charms of the wards for their actual duel. It was with a great amount of trepidation that he stepped into the designated duelling area against one of the most powerful people in the world. He hadn't been pitted against Kate yet, and he wasn't sure he'd feel the same fear other would feel against her because he knew she wouldn't hurt him.

But Drake, oh god, was he crazy!? He couldn't take Drake Herr even for fun! Which, speak of the devil, would not be fun!

He gulped slightly as he got into position and watched Drake get ready on the other side. "On three, I think." He said. "One, two.. Three!"

Harry shot into action, opening with a disarming charm. Drake side stepped it easily and responded with a stunner, Harry conjured a shield as felt the gong as it reverberated around the room. His arm shook slightly as he tried to shake it off.

He yelled out a "Rictumsempra!" followed by a silent, "Immobulus!"

Drake pulled up shield to stop both of them and quickened his pace slightly as dropped his next spells. Harry had to sidestep them as he didn't know what all of them were. He responded with a body bind, stunner and mild cutting curse.

Drake rolled out of the way and was on his feet again before Harry could blink and firing another spell. Harry dodged again and shot one back.

This by play continued for sometime as the pace gradually quickened until Harry was barely keeping up. He was drenched in sweat and could barely see Herr. Unlike Kate, he wasn't used to watching his opponent go that fast, nor was he used to moving that fast himself. He couldn't register all the spells being shot, and in one last attempt, opened fire with everything he had.

To his shock, Drake barely batted an eye as he pulled up a shield that reflected everything back at him. He couldn't dodge all his own spells, nor could be block them, and he didn't know how to transfigure spells (only Kate, Drake and Frankie could), so he was hit and went down.

He was revived a moment later by a smiling (actually smiling) Drake. Harry's brow furrowed as he wondered why the man was smiling.

He sat up, "How did I do?" He asked. It was a rude reminder that Drake had merely been toying with him, and he, Drake, couldn't beat Kate in a duel. It was about then that he realized he had a long way to go.

"Pretty good, you clearly aren't used to seeing someone move fast, and you need to work on figuring out what spells are heading towards you, but you didn't do too bad." He told him.

"Didn't do too bad?" Harry echoed incredulously.

Drake nodded, "Yep! You held your own quite well when I matched you up against what an average Auror could do. It wasn't until I sped up a little that you began to really lose. Had it been real, you'd have gotten away by the time I sped up past your ability to fight, or bumble through."

Harry nodded, "But I couldn't really see you." He frowned slightly.

"You need to think of it like quidditch, how do you predict the movement of the snitch? The wings are going fast, faster than anyone can maintain a duel." Drake told him.

Harry had to admit, when the snitch got going it was even faster than he'd seen Drake.

"That makes sense I suppose, and I'll be able to follow the movements better so I can figure out what spell is coming." Harry summarized.

"Exactly! It's one of those things that you'll get used to, then everyone else will simply look slow, and your reflexes are already fast, so you'll fly through the motions."

That explained how better duelists were so much faster than everyone else, especially Dumbledore, Voldemort, Drake and Kate. "Makes sense."

"I know." He said wryly, "Another thing you need to work on his how to deal with a large volley of spells coming at you, a large shield or something to intercept them works best. You can't dodge all of them, no matter how good you are." He told him.

Harry nodded, "So use a big general shield to block most of it, and then duck around the rest?"

"Yes, or find cover, even a killing curse can't go through stone."

"Thank you Drake." He said sincerely.

"Nah, no big deal, now let's eat, I'm hungry!" Harry laughed as he followed the man who acted like a child.


	13. Chapter 13: Horcruxes

Chapter 13: Horcruxes

SAME DAY WITH KATE

Kate flooed straight into the Headmaster's office from Tiffany's restaurant in New York. She was greeted by a cheerful looking Albus Dumbledore and led to the staff meeting room, which he explained was not the staff room. That was across the hall, and was password protected.

When they arrived, most of the staff was already there and Kate took a seat in between Severus and Hagrid. "Morning, Severus, Hagrid."

"Mornin' Kate!" Hagrid cried jubilantly.

Snape nodded curtly, "Good Morning Kate."

"Severus, Lily wanted me to tell you to owl her, with your schedule, I think she wants to meet with you." Kate delivered her message dutifully.

"Very well." He nodded before turning to speak with Filius on his other side.

Kate turned to Hagrid, "Have a good break?"

He nodded, "Oh yes, I went yet visit wi' the giants, bu' I had ter come back early when 'arry disappeared."

She was positive he wasn't supposed to tell her that, but she ignored it as she already knew that from a report from Jake. He was still going to the Order meetings and making reports back to them every week. "Pity, that must've been interesting. Which clan did you visit?"

"Jus' the English ones, they were where I was sent…" he explained, "I met me half brother, bu' I had to leave 'im because I didn' have time ter figure out how to 'elp 'im."

Kate nodded curiously, "That sounds interesting, I've visited a clan in the Himalayas as well as an American clan in the Rockies." Kate said truthfully. She had been with Drake both times, studying for her apprenticeship. While she loved both areas and had returned, she hadn't wanted to visit the giants.

"'Ave yeh met a lot o' magical beasts?" He asked her looking excited and curious.

She nodded, "I've seen most of the ones that are known to wizards, like merpeople, unicorns, trolls, vampires, werewolves, centaurs, acromantulas, you name it."

He looked excited, "Have any experience with dragons? They brought some in for the tournament last year, beauties they were, and I had one in me hut a few years back." He whispered this last part quietly, not looking anywhere as innocent as he wanted.

She remembered picking "Norbert" up from the Astronomy tower in Harry's first year. Jamie and Jake had snuck out of Ilvermorny that night to accompany Kate, Lily and Frankie.

"Yes actually, I've been to several dragon preserves, even caught one for Gringotts a while back. Though I'm not sure I was doing the right thing… but I also had to slay one that was terrorizing a Swedish village when I was visiting with Drake. He was no help, said it was part of my training, lazy tosser… I also got to ride one in Romania when we dropped off a baby dragon, it was after my apprenticeship." She wondered if he would connect those dots. Probably not, he was super sweet but not super bright, and probably not good at keeping secrets.

"Fascinating creatures, aren't they? Horribly misunderstood." He opined.

"They are fascinating, although I'm not sure they are misunderstood." she disagreed with him.

He got dreamy look on his face as he muttered, "I'd love ter have another dragon o' me own!"

"I'm sure you'll get one eventually, hopefully legally, but I'm sure it'll work out there." Kate reassured him, hoping he'd take the legal hint.

"It's a shame there illegal…" he sighed.

It was around then that Albus called the meeting to order. "Welcome back everyone! Last year ended in tragedy, but we have to keep moving forward or Cedric's death would be in vain. I have already introduced our new DADA teacher, thankfully the ministry will not be able to nominate their own person, so thank you Kate. Let's make this year the best one yet!" Albus said cheerfully.

There was a small round of applause as he sat back down and they began.

"Could everyone pass Minerva their student supply lists for the year?" He began. There was a rustling of papers as many staff members opened up folders and slid a piece of parchment down the table to the deputy.

She accepted them with a nod of thanks and put them in her own envelope. Kate had selected four different books for the years. First and second would be using A Basic Guide To Defensive Magic by Theodorus Bones, third would use Dark Creatures Defence by Arcturus Black, fourth and fifth would use The Essential of Defence Against the Dark Arts by Arsenius Jigger and the sixth and seventh would use Confronting the Faceless by Drake Herr. All students were supposed to get "comfortable workout clothes (muggle is recommended)" and NEWT students were also asked to get wand holsters.

The next thing collected, this time Albus himself, was supply lists for the classroom. Kate's was relatively simple, floor mats, wall padding, a dozen wooden practice swords, two basic magical creatures tanks and cages, chalk, parchment, pillows, and bookcases. She would be bringing the training dummies and anything else she thought they needed, trinkets and the like. She planned on training them hard.

But compared to what charms, transfiguration, potions and several other subjects needed every year, hers was nothing and wouldn't need to be replaced.

Albus lifted an eyebrow as he scanned her list but then smiled. Kate figured he was probably happy she was serious about her new job. She was serious, these kids were about to get stuck in a war armed with some of the worst instruction she had ever seen, and was hoping to remedy. Even if she was only planning on staying the year.

"Thank you all, everything should be in your classroom waiting to be unboxed in August 1st, as always." He told them. "Now, there is a good chance the ministry of magic will put an agent here to disrupt our normal activities and spy on, and potentially unseat, me. By working with me, they will assume all except maybe Kate and Severus are hostiles. I will leave it up to you as to what you wish to do about it, and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience." He told them.

Only Filch, Pince, and Kate were not Order members and the former two didn't care so it was obviously said for her benefit. But if someone did try to screw with her… well, Headmaster Fontaine had a full head of brown hair when she had started and was completely gray by the time she had graduate Ilvermorny. One of their best accomplishments, pranking him gray, and she was the ringleader of the pranks. She didn't bother to fight her 'prankster smirk' as her classmates had called it when the four elder Rogues got a particularly nefarious idea. Several teachers had tried to give them detentions when they saw the smirks but hadn't succeeded because they hadn't done anything wrong...yet.

It seemed several people around the table recognized the notorious look of every troublemaker ever. They gave her some wary, some gleeful looks. She responded innocently, "I hope they do not try to interfere too much, I would rather be given a chance to teach my own way, and learn from there."

"Quite" Albus agreed, looking highly amused at the silent byplay. "Now, Argus, can you explain to us the additions to the banned item list?"

What followed was something Kate took the cliff notes of, if it's dangerous, used for a prank, dark or otherwise disruptive, it's not allowed. Also no magic in the corridors, no students in the forest, password protected areas are off limits to everyone who is not expressly told the password, and curfew is from 10:30-5:30 every school night. Peeves was also the poltergeist who liked to pull pranks and listened to nobody, thankfully, he left the staff alone, usually.

"And Minerva, if you could give everyone their schedules for the year…" Albus finally changed the subject.

She waved her wand and said, "All of the patrol schedules are the same as last year, and the classes have been adjusted as needed."

Kate looked hers over curiously, she had Harry and the Slytherins double period Monday, but no other time. Her patrols were with Severus from 10:30- 2:00 am on Wednesday night, also the day of her free period. She had a second patrol from 2:00-5:30 am on Sunday nights, or really Monday mornings with Pomona.

Minerva seemed to be shooting her a mildly amused look, knowing who she was patrolling with. Severus was also watching her out the corner of his eye for a reaction. She disappointed them when she shrugged and put the schedule in her folder.

"If anyone needs to change their patrol nights, simply trade with someone and notify Minerva or myself." Albus reminded them, again mostly for Kate's benefit.

"Hogsmeade weekends will again be the first and third weekend of every month, except for September, December, January, April and June. There will be no trips in June, only on the third weekend for September, April and January, and only on the first for December." Kate wrote that down. "We can deal with who goes when as they come up, so if someone wishes to spend the day in Hogsmeade they can fill a supervising role as well."

There were several nods and some professors claimed specific weekends right away.

"Quidditch games this year will be the second Saturday of November, December, February, March, May and June, which will the final. And the fourth Saturday of April. Same teams playing in the same order." Rolanda Hooch, whom Kate had only shaken hands with briefly, announced. "And I'm sure some celebrities guests wouldn't go amiss." She added.

Kate took the hint, "I'm sure Jamie and some of her quidditch friends would like to come visit." She said diplomatically.

Hooch brightened considerably at that, "Thank you very much! And do tell us where your sister is going to sign?" She asked, focused totally on quidditch.

"She is debating between Puddlemere, the Magpies and the Harpies." Kate said truthfully, "Just about every team has offered though."

"She should consider the Magpies, they have two of the best beaters in the league and a great seeker, but the keeper isn't great, if they got someone like your sister in front of the hoops, they'd be unbeatable." Minerva piped up.

Kate wondered which team she was a fan of, very sarcastically, of course.

"But Puddlemere has Wadcock and Griffiths, at chaser and Benny Williams as a seeker, they would be the national team if they had Gwenog Jones and a keeper." Albus pointed out, Kate kicked herself, mentally, for being surprised. He was rather like her, immortalized by everyone else, but human nonetheless.

"Griffiths, who they stole!" Rolonda pointed out in annoyance, "From the Harpies, a very strong team, I played for them myself, you know, and they have everything but a keeper right now, including Gwenog Jones." Harpies were Rolanda's favorite team then.

"Besides, if Puddlemere signed Ross, poor Mr. Wood would never get a chance to start, they are nearly the same age!" Minerva added, the two teaming up on Albus.

He simply sighed, "Kill me for liking a different team than you two." He grumbled.

"Don't worry, Albus, Jamie thinks Puddlemere has the best future, long term." Kate consoled him.

"What are the offers she is looking at?" Rolanda asked her.

"12 million for 4 years from the Magpies, 8 million for three from the Harpies, and 11 for 4 years from Puddlemere, but money isn't really an issue, so it's not a real deciding factor. If it was, she'd take the Cannons three year, 18 million Galleon contract."

Several eyes widened at that. "18 million galleons!?" Was repeated by several people.

Kate nodded, "Yep, sounded more like a sponsorship contract with all the regulations on it and such."

"Where did you recommend she go?" Minerva asked her curiously, almost challenging.

"I haven't told her yet, hints she's 'undecided' as of now." Kate admitted.

"Ooo, tell her to go to the Arrows then!" Filius piped up.

Albus interrupted before this could snowball, "If that is all this meeting adjourned, anyone who wants to stay back, may continue this conversation."

A surprising lack of people moved. Severus bailed immediately, Poppy, Irma, and Filch also left and Hagrid shrugged but stayed with everyone else. It was soon an animated discussion about the British Quidditch league that Kate would bet anything most students would never believe occurred.

THAT NIGHT

He knew he had scared Harry, but he didn't care, this was too big, too important, too deadly. He'd found it when he was examining the boy's head. They had worked on the Occlumency shields for a bit, Harry's were strong enough to defend himself long enough to get away or attack with spell, both of which would break the connection.

After that test, which had only taken ten minutes after lunch, Drake had introduced the theory of hiding your mind in a fake mind. This had required Harry to find all the borders of his mind, something he had struggled with until Drake got in and began to guide him, getting every single edge and defining it.

In regular Occlumency, this was not required, you were protecting either a specific part, or the whole thing, so you didn't need to find a specific border. Regular Occlumency was about pulling your thoughts to one area and making a blank area and shields around it, within your mind. When concealing you mind with a fake one, you were basically wrapping a set of memories around the rest of your mind. Thus, set up around the borders.

It was as Drake was exploring one of these areas, that he found it. A complete abomination to magic. He wasn't completely positive he was right, but the strings were there, he had sent Harry to another part of his mind, far, far away and followed it. Right to his soul. Some bastard, three guesses who, had put a part of his soul inside, inside, Harry. A f***ing Horcrux.

He needed more information, because unless they were really, really lucky, Harry was going to have to die in order for them to defeat Voldemort. And he had no doubts at all that he would. As soon as he found out, he'd insist on it. And they couldn't keep this from him, it was his right to know. Drake could only wonder how Kate had missed it.

Or worse, how Dumbledore had missed it. Kate hadn't been really looking for, or expecting it, and she hadn't been proficient in magic when she had spent the bulk of her time with Harry, she wouldn't have been able to notice until about five years ago, when she had finished her apprenticeship, when Harry had started school. So it wasn't her fault. But Dumbledore, he had no excuse unless, unless… he already KNEW!

He had to. There was NO WAY, no way he would have not noticed. Damn him!

Of course, all of these thoughts had distracted him greatly from finishing up the basics with Harry. They had finished, eventually, and even gotten Harry to master apparition and disapparition. But he was distracted and Harry knew it.

Drake couldn't really comfort him either, because everything he would have said would be lies. And he didn't want Harry to suffer anymore than he must. Even lying to Harry felt like adding unnecessary cruelties to his life. Honestly, for what the kid would have to do, he should get whatever he wants for as long as he lives.

As it were, all Drake could tell him was that he'd know in time and not to worry about it right now. Later, it would probably consume him and it would kill him, but not right now.

Drake wouldn't wish this fate on anyone, except for Voldemort, whom he now wish nothing less than the most painful, brutal death and afterlife in the deepest, most miserable pits of hell. It hadn't been so bad during the first war, it was Britain's problem, but now, it was personal. Drake had always like the slightly dorky boy, hero status or not, Kate loved him, and he was like family. You don't get to pick them, but you end up growing to care about them anyway.

They had finished with time to spare, so Drake had told him to take a nap, it had been a long day. Harry had given him a weird look, but was used to seemingly crazy things coming from powerful wizards' mouths at this point, what with Dumbledore and Drake, so he'd simply nodded.

Drake paced like a caged lion in the living room, in the meantime. Oh yes, Dumbledore knew, probably plotting the boy's death, or trying to figure out how to save him. It depended he supposed.

Jake and Frankie came home first. Jake was quite sure he passed and Frankie was sure he did as well, she had been his tester after all. She said he had gotten them almost all right, and had gotten the practical at nearly 100%. They were both rather relieved and excited, until they saw him.

He didn't tell them what was wrong, he simply said this was between "me and my apprentice" only. They got the hint and he suggested they go tell Harry the good news, they agreed quickly.

Lily got home next, he briefly considered telling her when she asked but decided that she could be told later if she needed to know. Jamie got back a few minutes before Tiffany, they both asked what was wrong but got no answer. Jamie figured she could get it out of Kate later. Kenna wasn't getting back until tomorrow, and it seemed to be hours until Kate got back. She missed a tense dinner, and an apology by Drake for making it so tense. Everyone forgave him and he told them to go out and play around, not stay with him.

They, knowing something was very wrong, reluctantly went to go run around on the four wheelers. He knew they were questioning Harry thoroughly on the matter, but none would figure it out.

It was around 8 when Kate got back.

She walked in, looking perfectly happy, if a little concerned. The others must have spoken with her already. She didn't beat around the bush, "Drake what happened?"

And he didn't either as he threw up privacy spells. "Harry is a horcrux of Voldemort."

Kate paled, "Start from the beginning." She commanded.

He did not argue, at this point recognizing all of Kate's moods, faces, and small ques. This particular time, she was in scholar, protective elder sister, and most powerful witch on the planet all rolled into one waking giant.

"I was helping him define his borders for the mind in mind Occlumency technique when I went towards where his scar would be, if the mind was a physical structure. I found the parasite leeching onto him and then I followed the string leading away from him, straight to his soul. I knew right then what it was. I didn't tell anyone, of course."

Kate shut her eyes as she processed what she was being told. "Harry is a Horcrux, he has a piece of Voldemort's soul in him. He has to be destroyed beyond magical repair for Voldemort to die." She repeated, going through the implications. "We will have to tell him. And he will sacrifice himself. Harry is going to die." She said. "And I completely missed it!" She exclaimed, furious at herself suddenly.

Drake figured she was probably mad at the world in general right now.

"Harry's going to die before he turns 17." She whispered her voice breaking at the end. Tears began to stream down her face as she threw herself at a chair and buried her head in her hands. Harry was going to die before he lived, really. He would never see adulthood.

"What's the point of having all this power if I can't save the ones I love!?" She demanded furiously. She punched her armrest as hard as she could, when that didn't satisfy her, she punched the wall with all her strength, and a lot of magic behind it.

The wall just about shattered. Thankfully the others were outside and didn't notice anything, but there was no longer much of a wall between the sitting room and kitchen. She just glared furiously at it while tears continued streaming down her face. She turned away.

Drake fixed it with a wave of his wand.

"No! No! NO!" She thundered as tears rolled down her face, "I refuse to accept this! This is not how it ends! Harry will live, goddammit! And I will personal escort anyone who says otherwise to the gates of hell!" She roared, eyes blazing as some of her power leaked through.

Drake, though he taught her everything and knew this was impossible, suspected she'd find a way to fulfill this particular promise. "What do we do then?" He asked her.

He hoped she had an answer, because he didn't.

She turned on him quickly. "There are other horcruxes, you don't just make one on accident." She added darkly. "We need to destroy them as well."

He nodded, "But first we need to know more about Voldemort. We need to know how many, what they are and where they are. Not to mention figure out the best way to destroy them and stop him from making more."

"I-I think Dumbledore could help us here… there's no way, he-he… doesn't know- about… about this." Kate sighed. "He better not be planning… he better be trying to save Harry."

Drake hmmed quietly, "It could go either way with him. But I think it's best we not confront him about it until the school year is well into session, lest he figure out where Harry is."

She nodded, "I know, but in the meantime, we need to learn more…" she trailed off thoughtfully. "His full name's Tom Marvolo Riddle… orphan… born late 1920s… Gaunts were the last of Slytherin's line right?" She began to pace as she thoughtfully wiped her face.

After a moment of silence Drake worked up the nerve to interrupt his protege. "What are we going to tell Harry?" He asked her.

She paused. "We'll have to tell him eventually. We don't need a repeat of the boy-who-lived, but let's not ruin his summer. And the prophecy could help us…"

Drake had completely forgotten about that! It could give them the answers they need, or confirm the worst. But either way, they needed to know. If they wanted to keep Harry in the dark for now… they couldn't move it up in the plans.

"We'll tell him and everyone else at the same time, before school begins, or when I find the solution, either way. In the meantime, can you dig up Voldemort's past?"

He nodded, "And to deal with Dumbledore, you can beat him in a duel but…" he hesitated.

"It's better if it doesn't come to that.. I'll look up his past, see if I can't get some blackmail on him." Kate responded, a determined look entering her eye.

"It's a plan then." Drake nodded and began to move.

"You better stay for dinner to clear up everyone's worry." Kate warned him.

He sighed and nodded. "The shit we get into."

AN: REVIEW!


	14. Chapter 14: Dumbledore and Voldemort

Chapter 14: Dumbledore and Voldemort

JULY 22ND- KENNA'S BIRTHDAY

Explaining away Drake's behavior had simply come down to claiming he had not realized how hard Harry's Hogwarts years had been and making everyone buy it. Thankfully, they did, eventually. That night Drake had departed and the next day Kate began her research bright and early.

She wasn't sure how wise it was to tell Harry that she was looking for blackmail material on Dumbledore, but she did. She explained that they might need to get him to do something he wouldn't otherwise do, like remove him from the Dursleys, and the best way to do that was to have leverage. Leverage they currently lacked. Then he was distracted with the return of Kenna.

So, with that, she began to go through his school files and any published history about him, creating a timeline of his life, starting at his birth and making side notes of things that happened but did not have a date. She started with the big things, his birthday, when he would have started and graduated from Hogwarts, when he announced his findings on dragon's blood with Nicolas Flamel, his defeat of Grindelwald, his promotion to headmaster. She found everything she could before beginning to look into what was happening around him at the time.

He lived in Godric's Hollow during his school years, but he wasn't born there, why? His father was apparently arrested for attacking some muggle boys and he never said why, what was he protecting? Was that what caused them to move? The timeline matched, and thus another date was added to the list. His mother died shortly after he graduated, and then his sister died later that summer, what happened?

Kate pieced it together very meticulously. There were rumors his brother punched him at the sister's funeral, did he blame Albus? He was supposed to be the man of the house at the time…

Aberforth Dumbledore...what happened to him? Something about being arrested for inappropriate charms on a goat that caused a big scandal, because of who his brother was, in Hogsmeade. The scene of the crime was the Hog's Head bar. A bar who she found was owned by his brother… who he didn't defend him at his hearing… estranged maybe? Well, if he killed his sister, then yeah, she'd hate him too. She'd never forgive Harry for killing Jamie, or vice versa.

Dumbledore was called to face Grindelwald years before he did, why? The ministry? The one that didn't seem to trust him not to do his own thing, was this why? Did they try to stop him and he finally just ignored them? But why would they stop him? Why would he listen? Was there a personal connection?

Back to the family tree...Grindelwald...notably related to Bathilda Bagshot...roughly the same age as Dumbledore, maybe a year or two younger...went to Durmstrang, was expelled for dark experiments. He left the country and disappeared until he reappeared as a Dark Lord, where did he go? Presumably to learn, he had to get the greater good from somewhere.

Grindelwald also picked up the elder wand between his expulsion and World War 2, so that brings in the Deathly Hallows, Drake said they were the Peverell brothers. One was murdered, and the wand stolen, one committed suicide and the stone given to some relative, and the third, welcomed death like an old friend, the youngest Ignotus… who gave his cloak to his son in...Godric's Hollow, where Dumbledore lived! Where Bagshot lived! Grindelwald visited his aunt for the summer and met Dumbledore!

Did Grindelwald kill Dumbledore's sister? But wouldn't that have made him eager for revenge? Maybe Grindelwald forced Dumbledore to kill his sister? But wasn't her death an accident? What if they said that to protect Albus?

The story of Albus Dumbledore was beginning to fall into place piece by piece. Kate knew she would have to make a trip to Godric's Hollow to confirm these things, but it was interesting nonetheless. And she potentially had her blackmail material, even if this was information she hesitated to advertise. No this, if the media ever found out, would cause Dumbledore nothing but pain and trouble, it would probably destroy him. To see reminders of a horrifying past on the front page of every newspaper in the world...no, his reputation might survive just enough, but it would be unpleasant for him to weather. But for Harry, her little brother, he could suffer. If he was planning to kill him, she would make it as bad as possible, but if not, nobody would ever need to know, not even he needed to know that she knew.

Unfortunately, confirmation would have to wait until after Kenna's birthday. She and Drake had plans to spend that week in Britain, and then they'd come back for Harry's birthday. They'd head back to Britain to kidnap his friends before shifting focus to Ron and Hermione. While in England, they'd compare notes, Kate could confirm her timeline and they'd hopefully get a chance to go after some horcruxes.

Kenna's 21st birthday dawned bright and early. Jamie woke first and made everyone her friend's favorite breakfast, eggs Benedict.

Breakfast was lengthy and loud. Kate explained that she and Drake needed to do something together for the war and would be gone next week and left it at that. Nobody questioned it as they were pretty much used to them running off together without explanation.

After breakfast, they all took a horseback ride through Glacier National Park and had lunch at a picnic ground spot. When they returned, everybody forced themselves to take a nap so they could stay up tonight.

That night, everyone 21 and older (besides Kate and Cella) was dropped off at a local bar to celebrate Kenna's new rights. They would not need to be picked up by Kate until much, much later. The younger ones, Jamie and Harry, plus Kate and Cella, went to the movies and saw Casper. They made it home by 11. Kate went out afterwards to pick up their friends, and make sure no press saw them.

Neither Cella or Kate joined the drinking binge because neither really liked alcohol nor did their jobs permit them to get caught. Frankie was an established professor and so could take the hit, but Kate did not think Albus would be impressed if her staggering around drunk made the front page of every newspaper in the world. And between the nine of them, it would make the front page everywhere, not to mention give away where Harry was.

She had only had to obliviate one magical reporter, but otherwise they had kept on the down low, and she made them a portkey back to the ranch. With a liberal amount of silencing charms, she got them all to their bed and and vanished the contents of their stomachs. This way, they wouldn't be as drunk, or could they choke on vomit.

The next morning, five out of the nine residents of the house woke with a severe hangover, much to the amusement of the other four. Jamie made breakfast while the other three helped the others and got the hangover potions. By the time breakfast was ready, the whole group was back to normal, if a little tired. Afterwards, Kate said her goodbyes, gave Harry some things to work on, and apparated straight to the Leaky Cauldron in London.

Drake met her in a back room.

"Lo, Drake!" She said wearily but trying to sound happy.

He gave her a wan smile, "You too then?"

She sighed, "It's bad, Drake, it's just bad."

"What isn't? Dumbledore's a half-assed farce, Riddle's a whiny hypocrite with Daddy issues, and Potter is being raised to be an innocent sacrifice to save undeserving little-" he didn't finish it, clearly not being able to find a word strong enough to describe British wizards.

"He's not a farce, he's just created every problem he's credited with solving." Kate grimaced.

"Tom Riddle, the Dark Lord Voldemort, was born in December of 1927, his mother, Merope Gaunt, died at his birth and he was placed at Wool's Orphanage in London. He terrorized his fellow orphans and went to Hogwarts, recruited by Dumbles, ironically enough. Yew and Phoenix feather wand, favorite teacher was Horace Slughorn, Head of Slytherin and Potions Master. He was prefect and Head boy, Dumbles never liked him much. The Chamber of Secrets was opened in his fifth year, Harry already told you what happened there. He graduated with top marks, got a job at Borgin and Burkes before quitting and not being seen again until he applied for the DADA spot at Hogwarts. He was denied by the new Head, Dumbledore, and was never seen again, Voldemort emerged years later."

"That's not very helpful, except for Borgin and Burkes bit."

"More than you think, the Gaunts were ended when Morfin was put in Azkaban for murder of the muggle Riddle family, Voldie's Dad and grandparents. Junior was 16 at the time, it was right after the chamber of secrets mess. Morfin confessed and was upset about losing his ring."

"Horcrux." Kate breathed. "Where did they live?"

Drake nodded, "Little Hangleton. And I think, after going over the memory of the chamber of secrets from Harry, that diary was a Horcrux from Myrtle Warren's death by the basilisk. The ring's probably from the Riddle's death."

"And he used his Borgin and Burkes job to find more things to turn to Horcruxes, someone as arrogant as he would not use garbage."

"That's two at least, plus Harry, I personally think he'd use a magical number, 5, 7, or 13. The question is if he knew about Harry…"

"I don't think so, he'd have tried to exploit it before now if he had." Kate told him reluctantly.

Drake nodded his agreement, "So on the Riddle front we need to visit Borgin and Burkes to ask about him, Little Hangleton to see if he left one there, Horace Slughorn to learn more about him, the ministry archives to list the mysterious deaths around then, maybe Wool's as well for info."

"I think he hid a Horcrux at Hogwarts." Kate said flatly.

"How do you reckon?" He asked her.

"Well, he was obviously attached, and he went back later, so, he had the opportunity, and it would make a very secure place to hide one. I can look around for it this school year."

"That makes four-ish right now." He said. "Now Dumbledore."

"Grindelwald and he knew each other as kids, and I suspect that he had more to do with the Greater Good than he wants to admit, it does sound like his philosophy." Kate revealed.

He stared at her. "That-that makes a lot of sense actually." He frowned as he ran it over mentally.

"Tell me everything." He ordered.

She did, she began with that facts then moved to her theories and they ended up adding Godric's Hollow to their list of places to visit.

They went to Little Hangleton first, the next day. It was not hard to find the Gaunt...shack. It was a run down, clearly abandoned hovel, not the pureblood mansion Kate was expecting. But it was heavily warded nonetheless.

It had taken about an hour of casing before they were ready to tackle what they were now sure was the hiding spot of a Horcrux. The first ward was a Caterwauling Ward to alert Voldemort should anyone try to break through, it was well done, sure, but nothing Drake Herr couldn't deal with in the blink of an eye. No sixteen year old could beat him, except for Kate when she was 16, but that was only in open dueling.

The next wards were muggle repelling and notice me not wards, again easy to get through. Then they hit the dark stuff.

First was an inferno ward, simply put, anything that crossed the threshold would be burned to ash instantly. It was nearly undetectable and there was always an explosion when it was broken, it was a lose-lose for intruders. Fortunately, it was only one way, out or in, and you could open up a hole in it to slip through if it wasn't connected to a ward stone. A ward stone would stop nearly anyone from making a hole in the ward but all you had to do to nullify it was dig it up.

After that was one of those timed spell wards that again blew up if you broke it. This one they beat the old fashioned way, counter every spell exactly as it's being cast and hit the point of origin, they were nullified, miss even one and it would blow. Again, Kate was a former pro dueler. The next was simply an anti-apparition jinx. The final ward could only be undone by a parseltongue. Or an imperioused snake, as Voldemort seemed to not have realized.

Finally, finally, the door swung open with a moan and dust swirled up all around them as they cautiously stepped inside.

The wood was creaky and rotting, the paint had been peeled and there was mold growing on the walls. There was no lighting besides the din from the dirtied windows and the sun shining through the door behind them. The hallway had several arches leading to different parts of the house so Kate and Drake both pushed their magic outward and concentrated on the magic lingering in the room, the traces on the floors and trickles on the walls.

The whole room felt slimy, thin slime that radiated a certain foul smell, but one patch of air reeked of unnaturalness and death in a way Kate hadn't seen until she'd scanned Harry's scar one night. Horcrux that way then.

They exchanged a look before nodding and turning to the doorway directly across from the front door. With a great amount of trepidation they stood at the threshold and cast several detection spells. They came up empty, but both could feel something was there to protect the Horcrux.

Kate hesitantly stepped forward, ignore Drake's sudden shout to stop. Sure enough, a huge ball of flames shot straight at her. Orange, red, and blue, a massive fire snake, fiendfyre. Panicking slightly she used her still extended magic to freeze every bit of magic in the room and squeezed her eyes shut. She braced for the worst, heat, pain, the smell of her own burning flesh.

It never came however and she heard Drake's hitched breathing from somewhere behind her. Had it-? She opened her eyes with trepidation and looked up warily.

In front of her, frozen mid jump, not a single thing moved as she did not dare to relax. She didn't dare turn away either as she spoke, "Drake, p-put up the shield please."

She didn't care that her voice was a little shaky, she was terrified, she had almost died, completely helpless. But what scared her the most, however, is that she had panicked and frozen, she had never done that before, things like this had never made her unable to move, to act.

A dark purple light sprang into existence in front of her and advanced on the fire. As it moved closer, Kate tried to think of a reason why she had panicked. It wasn't hard, she had frozen, because she had realized just what she had gotten into, what was after Harry, she wasn't scared for herself, she was scared for dragging her friends into this, for Harry being forced to the center of it. What they had gotten involved in had finally sunk in completely, what she'd gotten them into. Or rather what Voldemort had forced Harry into and they had followed because they really didn't have another choice. She wouldn't let Harry do it alone and her friends wouldn't let either of them go by themselves.

There was nothing she could do except fight harder and protect them the best she could, Harry she could train at least. Resolve hardened, she watched as the fiendfyre was extinguished.

"Sorry, Drake, I just…" she shrugged helplessly.

He shook his head, "Its fine, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, let's keep going, it won't happen again." She said and began to profile the room.

He gave her turned back a searching look (not that she saw) and began to cast detection spells. One particular floorboard seemed to have a large concentration of magic and the whole room was completely wrecked.

"There!" He mummered to her.

She cautiously stepped forward and the second her foot it the wood it crumbled and she shot back. When it was cleared, the hole revealed a large den of poisonous vipers going under the entire floor. She'd bet anything that there was only one small path that would not force you into the snake pit.

She exchanged a look with Drake. "You wanna do this?" She asked him.

"Not terribly." He answered and she sighed, expecting that.

"Fine then, you put up a containment shield, I'm going to drop rocks on every board at once, the ones that don't break are obviously the ones we want." She told him.

"And what if they're enchanted to collapse after two weights? Then they'll break without you being able to come back." He said.

"Levitate me over, I'll make my own containment field before you drop yours." She answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He nodded, if he thought she was in real danger or couldn't handle herself, he'd stop her like he always had, but he would let her learn on her own if there was a way to do something. It was simply his teaching style and as trust formed, she had begun to understand she had never actually been in danger during their apprenticeship, not until she was as competent as he was anyway.

With a snap of her wrist, she dropped small rocks on every floor board at once. All but a few in a straight line collapsed into nothing as more snakes were revealed. Drake's shield snapped into place below her and she wearily followed the path laid before her. Every board creaked as she crossed it, but none broke, to her moderate surprise. Sixteen year old Riddle had been good, but not that good. Or maybe just that arrogant.

Either way, Drake wouldn't be levitating her back. She reached the end of the path and looked down, below the shield, covered in snakes, was a small wooden box that could only contain the Horcrux, or it could be the Horcrux itself, she supposed. She forced a small hole in the shield, she could feel Drake's grimace at her back at the ease with which she did it, and levitated the box, and one snake who was along for the ride. She wasted no time returning to her mentor who grabbed the snake and killed it under his boot.

They were off with nobody the wiser, both agreeing now was not the time to open the confirmed Horcrux inside the box.

AN::: Please REVIEW!

Circe: If you make an account on this site, you can "follow" this story or my author profile to get update notifications. If you already have an account, you can go to settings to make sure your notifications are turned on.


	15. Chapter 15: Borgin and Burke's

Chapter 15: Borgin and Burke's

TWO DAYS LATER

Yesterday, Kate and Drake had visited Godric's Hollow and gotten a most interesting story from one Bathilda Bagshot. It had been morally dubious, using compulsion charms to get the whole thing out of her and then obscuring the memory until she barely remembered it, but they hadn't broken any laws nor crossed any lines.

They got the full story of the Dumbledores based on her account and what they already knew.

After that, it was to the ministry. They snuck into the Auror records room using information Cella and Jake had, along with their own knowledge. It had been interesting to say the least.

Besides the murder of the Riddles, Myrtle Warren had been killed by the monster in the chamber of secrets, Hepzibah Smith had been poisoned by her house elf (last heir of Hufflepuff), James Carnap had died when he fell down a set of stairs (last heir of Gryffindor), Regulus Black had disappeared oddly, but many years later, and several major names like Malfoy, McNair, Black, Lestrange, and Nott disappeared for a time. They noted all of this as they went about.

Now, today, they had two visits to make, first to Borgin and Burkes and then to the residence of one Horace Slughorn. As they walked down Knockturn Alley, faces carefully concealed and posture menacing and proud, they did not say a word. Thankfully, when they entered, the shop was empty and the bell brought Borgin, the currently sole owner, to the front. Burke had died some years ago without any heirs.

Since they were planning on obliviating him anyway, they felt no need to hide their faces, but they did ensure nobody outside would recognize or disturbing them.

Kate waved her wand while Drake stepped forward.

"Now, now, certainly there is no need for that?" He asked in a slippery voice, but his eyes betrayed his nerves at their actions. "I believe our mutual lord will not find difficulty from me."

"That is exactly what we are here to speak with you about." Drake said evenly, infusing his voice with power.

The room seemed to crackle with his power and Kate forced her face to stay straight, Drake really could be intimidating, even if you could beat him. But in this case, she struggled to contain her laughter at the man's face. She stood at attention about two feet behind him and off to the side so she could see everything. Just like the old days.

She had immensely enjoyed her apprenticeship. At first, it had been him spending a lot of time wherever she was and teaching her outside things and the physical aspects to dueling and making rune circles, extending your aura, setting the foundation. Then he'd moved into the school and in a few months and a summer she could have flat out taken her NEWTs and graduated. But instead they went back together and she went to classes (though she was studying what he had asked her) and acted normal, for the most part. All of her numerous detentions had been learning from him, and every night, she would spend hours in his quarters learning everything she could. After fourth year, she moved in with him over the summer and they'd begun to go out and actually do things. When she wasn't visiting Harry, that was.

During the school year it was back to learning and summers got more and more intense with her struggling to find time for everything, but they made a formidable pair. When her apprenticeship ended, they'd both been relieved and a little disappointed. They had stayed close however, and still accompanied each other on adventures at least once a month. Of course, now that would have to end with her new job, but she suspected he was planning on being around a lot anyway.

She knew he loved her like the daughter he never had, when his wife had died he would have been alone, but Kate had moved in to step up the apprenticeship and help him out. His life revolved around her now, she knew. Without her he'd probably be drifting lost and with no purpose. And make no mistake, she didn't really pity him, no she loved him like an uncle and something of a dad who actually understood her world (not that her dad wasn't great). But this knowledge allowed her to tolerate more than she probably would have of his antics, and protectiveness.

They had a comfortable relationship in which they both knew the other loved them, so didn't feel any need to say it. They only rarely thought about it actually.

"I wasn't aware the Dark Lord wanted anything?" He stammered.

"I could not care less what Voldemort wants." Drake sneered pulling off his hood, "But we have some questions for you."

Kate lowered her hood a second later than Drake and Borgin paled and back tracked. "Uh-uh, I mean, I just wanted to make sure you weren't supporters of him! Master Herr, Mistress Ross, it is truly an honor to meet you, I'm sure we can come to an arrangement-" he blubbered.

"The arrangement is simple, you answer our question with the whole and complete truth and nothing else, or we will know and you will not escape this room." Kate said, her voice laced with authority and power, she knew she sounded terrifying but she didn't feel very scary.

"Of course, Madame! I will answer everything to the best I can- of course there are some privacy agreements I must fol-" he agreed quickly, obviously fearing for his life.

"You will answer everything, and there are no valid privacy agreements in this case." Drake cut him off firmly, and stepped forward, he tried to take a step back, but Kate stopped him with a small wave of her hand.

He stood, frozen in place as they advanced on him, eyes wide with terror. "Please do not try to flee, it will only make this harder." Kate told him evenly. "This won't hurt if you are simply honest."

She released the spell and he stared at them, Drake waved his wand conjured three armchairs. "Let us sit, I am not as young as I used to be." He gestures to the chairs and Borgin hesitantly lead the way over and sat in one like it was a bomb about to go off.

Kate and Drake followed and they sat in silence as they watched Borgin fidget slightly. Eventually, he was unnerved enough to start the questioning on his own. "What was it you lot needed?"

"Some answers about a former trinket." Kate said simply. She leaned back to see if it struck anything in his expression. She did not need legilimency to know that he was mentally running over every person he had ever hired.

"What do you know about Hepzibah Smith?" Drake asked him.

Borgin looked confused, but answered, "She never sold anything here."

"But she was a patron?" Kate prodded.

He swallowed nervously, but nodded nonetheless, "Oh yes, she bought a locket from us for very cheap, we didn't even realize what it was until after... she had the locket of Salazar Slytherin! And she also, by family heirloom, had the cup of Helga Hufflepuff!" He told them, "She never sold either to us and when she died, nobody ever found where she hid them."

They nodded slowly, the ring they had found yesterday, the diary from Harry, a locket and a cup. That was four, five if you counted Harry. So was that it? It couldn't be that simple, plus for a five part soul, that was one too many, assuming he knew about Harry, which they suspected he didn't.

"I see." Drake said evenly, giving away nothing, but Kate knew he was thinking the same thing. "How did she die?"

"Poisoned by her own elf, she was old, you see and accidentally mixed up some herbs with poisonous leaves, confessed later and everything. They couldn't kill her, really wasn't completely her fault, but she was banished."

"And was this in the middle of you trying to buy the-ah, locket and cup?" Drake pressed.

His eyes narrowed, "How'd ya know that?" He demanded, "Get outta my mind!"

"It was simply a guess, you did say that you never found the things." Kate covered smoothly, mentally chewing Drake out, moron.

He looked suspicious but calmed nevertheless. "Yes, we were in the process of trying to get her to sell, we had a young employee who was very good at his job."

"Who was it?" Kate forced herself to not sound excited or eager.

"Young Tom Riddle, no idea what happened to him after she died, he quit, but he was trying to get her to sell."

"Why him?" Drake fires shrewdly.

"Well, he was fascinated by artifacts from the founders, so it was a natural choice." Borgin said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And have you come across any other founders artifacts?" Kate asked him, already knowing the answer but wanting to mislead him anyway.

"No, there were rumors of Ravenclaw's diadem being found in Albania around then, and Gryffindor's sword resurfaced recently, but we never were able to confirm the first and Dumbledore will not part with the second." He told them.

Ravenclaw's diadem? A potential sixth Horcrux? Clearly, seven or thirteen was their answer. They already knew Gryffindor's sword was clean (it was imbued with basilisk venom already), had he gotten his hand on something else from him then? The founder had never had any other relics, though. So five Horcruxes, plus Harry and the piece in his body. So, that was a seven part soul right there, but if he didn't know about Harry, then he probably had one more at least somewhere…

"Do you have any other things connected to Hogwarts?" Kate asked, might as well know while they were on the topic.

The look on his face made her suspect that he did, in fact, have something. "N-nothing of Hogwarts' relics." He said evasively.

"Well, do tell." Her voice was like a lion stalking its prey.

He gulped, and Drake helped him a little, "Do not make us do something you might regret."

"Th-the vanishing cabinet-it, it's a secret way into Hogwarts. They were setting it up in the last war, but-then the Potters happened-and..."

"It was never completed." Kate concluded softly. He nodded.

"Show me." She ordered.

He got up slowly and they both followed him to a back room where, in a corner, stood a tall black wooden wardrobe. He gestured to it and Kate opened it, sticking her head in.

"Madame! The other side is damaged-you will-" he said flustered.

She jerked back and waved her wand in a complicated pattern, using the connection between the two to repair it from her side. "I am going through, I will be back in ten minutes at most."

He nodded and she flung the door open again and stepped inside. There were no words to describe it, it felt like an elevator in a way, but not quite, the feeling was all around her, rather than just on the floor.

When the sensation stopped, she knew she had arrived, hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst, she raised her wand and opened the door.

And was met with the biggest pile of junk she'd ever seen. Which was an accomplishment considering she had seen the ministry archives.

It was huge. She glanced around and realized she had to be in the biggest junkyard of all time. She had no idea where she was, did Hogwarts have a lost and found or something? One that was never cleaned? Dumbledore had never said.

Stretching out her magic, she was able to confirm she was in Hogwarts. Following the sense of where it was the strongest, she managed to find her way back to the door and heaved it open. She had no idea where she was.

There was a portrait of someone teaching trolls to dance. She memorized it carefully, knowing she could use it to find the place later. Walking down the hall as quietly as possible, she glanced around. There was a stone gargoyle at the end of another hall. She must be near the Headmaster's office, then.

She turned back to where the door was to find...nothing. What-? She knew Hogwarts was supposed to be full of mysteries but really? Dumbledore never said anything about this…but then again he'd also said he didn't know every school secret. This must be one of those.

She wondered who else would know, someone who knew the castle well, maybe Harry knew about this room? It would make sense, he was always out of bounds anyway. Obviously Voldemort, he had planned to use it to enter the school, and it was near the Headmaster's office. Near the- oh.

Had he hidden his Horcrux, here? No way, it couldn't be, he wouldn't have put it somewhere and then sent his death eaters to that same room. He wasn't that arrogant. Yeah, he was.

He simply valued his life more than that.

None of these thoughts solved her problem, however. Who would know how to get in here, that she could ask? The ghosts? Maybe a portrait? No, the ghosts were nowhere in sight and portraits would have to tell Dumbledore. How about a house elf?

"Twinkle!" She called the elf that had been assigned to her.

Said house elf popped into existence in front of her, "Mistress be needing something?" She asked her, looking quite happy to see her.

"Yes, I came in through a door right here, and now it's gone, I need it to leave again, do you by any chance know how to bring it back?" Kate asked her politely.

She nodded her head vigorously, "Mistress be needing Come and Go room. Pace the wall three times and the room you require be appearing through the door."

"Thanks, Twinkle! I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone I was here today."

"Twinkle can not be lying to Master Dumblydore." She answered, looking quite upset.

"I'm not asking you to lie." Kate said hastily, "If he asks, tell him, but don't tell him unless he asks."

"That be misleading Master!" She argued.

Kate made something up quickly, "I'm trying to protect the school, Twinkle, and the less people that know about this, the better. I'm not saying that Master Dumbledore doesn't want to protect the school, too, but he also sees a lot of people and you never know who might be listening." She said to appease the distraught elf.

Twinkle's eyes widened like saucers and Kate knew she'd won. "Twinkle be keeping Mistress's secret."

"Thank you, Twinkle." Kate said sincerely. She knew it was hard for the elf to agree to such a thing.

The elf gave her a watery eyed nod and popped away. Kate turned back to the problem at hand.

"Right..." she muttered, "Hogwarts lost and found."

She paced back and forth three times in front of the wall, concentrating all her thoughts on the room she needed. On the third pass, the door she had gone through earlier appeared and she walked through, allowing to disappear behind her. Getting back to the vanishing cabinet would have been impossible, had she not used her ten minutes and Drake come bolting through, wand blazing.

She told him to stay near the cabinet and talk to her so she could navigate the maze that was the Come and Go room's lost and found. Eventually she reached the surprised curse breaker and they returned to Borgin and Burkes together.

The first thing Kate saw was Borgin knocked out on the floor. "I altered his memory already, when we step outside, he will wake and think he fell asleep, the enchantments will come down when the door opens." Drake supplied.

"Let's move him then." Kate suggested.

Drake levitated him to a chair in the back room and Kate did not hesitate to scorch the vanishing cabinet and then vanish the ashes. She transfigured a quill on a table into an exact replica, minus the connection to the one at Hogwarts, which she could destroy later. They exchanged nods and made their way to the exit.

LATER THAT DAY WITH SLUGHORN

Horace Slughorn has been difficult to track down, because apparently he had abandoned his house and gone on the run. From what, they could only guess, but he must have some pretty good information, for he was no fighter, from what Drake said.

Eventually that had tracked him down to a small house in Dover and managed to put down some wards to trap him. It was no use letting him run.

Then they knocked on the door. He didn't answer, but instead called out, "Busy right now, please come back another day!"

The sheer panic in his voice had them suspecting he thought they were Death Eaters. "Professor Slughorn, we know you are in there! We simply want to talk, we aren't former students either!" Kate called to him. They figured she was probably less threatening as far as voice. It was well known that all of the female death eaters where either in Azkaban or nowhere near as feminine (except Narcissa Malfoy, she supposed).

"You-are?" He asked, seemingly taken aback.

"Yes! I wanted to ask you for some teaching advice, Drake is just here to accompany me, said he always wanted to meet you." Drake's expression said he thought this was laying it on too thick. But he was a Slytherin, well known for his connections.

And he fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

"Teaching advice, eh? And Drake? Surely not Drake Herr?" He exclaimed in surprise.

"That would be correct, Professor." Drake spoke in the most reassuring voice he could manage.

The door sprung open a moment later to reveal a man dressed in expensive green and brown wizarding robes from a fashion line decades old. He was short, plump and graying but his eyes were bright and his expression excited.

"Drake Herr and Kate Ross? Why didn't you just say so?"

"Well, you did not seem to eager to answer the door…"

"Oh, well, you can never be sure these days.." he told them, "Do come in!"

Drake gestured for her to lead as they stepped into the brightly lit corridor. He lead them down the hall and they made a right into a comfortable looking sitting room. "Tea?" He asked them.

"Please." Kate said politely, Drake said nothing, but she could tell he was nodding his agreement.

"Take a seat, take a seat." He invited, waving them towards the couch. They sat down next to each other, careful not to mess up their clothes.

Drake was dressed in a dark gray three piece suit with a black tie and traveling cloak, while Kate sported a blue pantsuit with a white collared shirt and a black traveling cloak of her own. Her brown hair (that went to the middle of her shoulder blades), was up in a bun while Drake had merely trimmed his beard. They had figured for this particular meeting, the more pomp and circumstance, the better.

He eyed their clothing appreciatively as he returned with a tray of cups and tea. "I am afraid I am a bit underdressed for the two of you… however I would be happy to answer any questions you have, Mistress Ross." He said happily.

Kate took a sip of her tea and then set it down on the coffee table in front of her before she spoke. "I am not sure if Albus has said anything yet, but I have recently been hired as the new DADA professor at Hogwarts." She revealed.

His eyes lit up in delight at that piece of gossip. Knowledge was power where Slytherins were concerned. "Oh ho!" He exclaimed, "No, Albus hasn't said anything about that, other than he already has a professor and the ministry doesn't need to fill the position. Everyone has been trying to find out who it is, but he has remained tight lipped."

This, Kate had not heard about, nobody had said anything to her, not Jake or Cella, or even Kenna. Maybe they thought she already knew?

"Really? I hadn't heard that, I suppose there are a few guesses as to who he hired?" Kate answered.

"Oh yes! Many were beginning to fear just who Albus had roped into teaching, he had to be so secretive about everything. But with you it makes sense, a little treat for the students, I dare say, to learn from someone like you."

Kate knew the flattery game very well, dealing with as many people as she had from her position. "I certainly hope I will live up to expectations, which is why I am here actually. I am, while more than qualified to teach defense, am not terribly experienced in the teaching portion of this. Drake here has told me what helped him with me, but one willing and studious apprentice is very different from a class of teenagers with varying degrees of competence. I have heard many good things about you, and thought that you may be able to help here."

Flattering, intriguing and insulting all rolled into one. "Why of course my dear! What would you like to know?" He gave her an excited look.

"Well, I know that the four houses do not get along that well, do you have any advice for handling that?" She asked him, "And how do students from different houses need to be treated?"

He gave her a beaming smile as he answered, "With Ravenclaw and Slytherin, they get along fine, same with Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws tend to be fine together as well. The main thing is that with Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, you must keep everyone interested and learning without letting the Lions distract the Ravens. With Hufflepuff and Slytherin, do not let the Slytherins get ahead, or they will begin to belittle Hufflepuff if they are being slowed down. Lions and Snakes, it is best to keep them separated and do not allow them to get any shots at each other, overwhelm them and they won't have time to fight."

That sounded like solid advice so Kate took mental notes and nodded.

"Individually, Ravenclaws like to learn, they want to use their brains, theories and puzzles will always appeal to them, just make sure they are learning at a fast pace. Hufflepuffs are hard working and enjoy projects and completing difficult assignments themselves, they get satisfaction out of achievements. Gryffindors need to be kept interested and that's best done with physical movement, especially in a class like DADA. Slytherins need to see the benefit of what they are doing, and in some cases, the dangers."

Kate nodded as she committed it to memory. "Right, and how would you suggest I go about that?"

"Group projects for Badgers and Lions, sometimes Ravens, and showing real demonstrations will work with every house, simulations will work with Lions and Badgers especially, although everyone enjoyed practical work." He said with a nod, going into Professor mode.

"How should I handle fights?" Kate asked him, she needed to keep it where he thought the conversation should be while steering it where she needed it.

"Treat everyone fairly, go with your instincts and listen to both sides, do not just look at the results." He told her, "My dear, you certainly seem to have a good feel for what you will need to deal with."

She shrugged bashfully, "I thought about it a lot and used my own Ilvermorny experiences to figure out what Hogwarts might be like."

"Clever girl." he praised.

She gave him a smile and asked her next question, "What should I do with students who are too interested in the darker side of magic?"

His smile faltered slightly, he was silent for a moment and Kate knew Drake was very carefully seeing if he had Occlumency shields as well as trying to get a glimpse of what came to mind.

"Well, that is truly a judgement call, of course not everyone one will be the correct one, but you don't want to inhibit their learning. You also can't let them go dark, try to impress on them the importance of what they want to know worked for me, usually. If you scare them away, however, you can't control what they find as well." He warned her, seeming to be lost in thought slightly.

She nodded again, a slight grimace in her face, "Sound advice, experienced with that I take it?"

He grimaced, "You truly have no idea, my dear."

She gave him a curious look, she knew she had to tread carefully here. "Try me." She made sure it was said with an almost humorous tone instead of an order.

His face darkened, "I don't think that's really a good idea.." he muttered, Kate barely heard him. What did he know about Voldemort?

"I do have a few other questions, but this is more between you and me." She told him seriously.

He gave her a wary look, "I'm not sure if that's-"

She cut him off, this would not be what he was expecting. "How should I deal with my colleagues?" She asked him.

He did, indeed, look quite surprised, she could've sworn she heard him mutter something about "not being from Dumbledore" or similar to that.

"Well, in front of students, use a full 'Professor' in front of their name, in private, first names are normal." He seemed the most relaxed he'd been since they had arrived.

"Naturally, and how do you distinguish between what to call a student?" She asked him.

"Mr. or Ms. Last Name, is normal, although simply using a surname is less formal, but equally unfamiliar, more disrespectful if not used as a blanket. Using first names is something that has to be earned, only if you are very familiar with a student or you feel they need comfort." He said.

Kate nodded, unlike the US, where first names are considered standard. "Right, how do favorites happen?"

"Well, favorites are things you shouldn't pick but tend to end up happening anyway, I always favored those I felt had the most potential, of course it is a struggle to keep treatment the same, but you can manage." He rambled.

"What was your time teaching like?" He should be comfortable enough by now.

"Oh, you know, I was potions Professor and then head of Slytherin, both when Albus was a teacher and then when Minerva replaced him." Slughorn reminisced.

"You would have been a teacher during Grindelwald and Voldemort, right?" She asked him, knowing he would be uncomfortable.

"That-that would be correct. Dark, dark times." He told them with a shudder.

"How do you deal with students then?" She asked him.

"Try to make it as normal as possible, but also be sympathetic, they are losing family members too." He told her seriously.

That was good advice. "And just try to protect them from Riddle?" She added helpfully.

His eyes went wide, "H-how do you know t-that name?"

"It's common knowledge in our circles." Drake cut in.

"O-oh, Yes well, I suppose it would be…" He stuttered.

"You know, Dumbledore taught him too." Kate reminded him.

"Yes, but he wasn't his head of house." Slughorn said.

"No, but he was Grindelwald's best friend." She told him gently.

He looked taken aback, "He was?"

She nodded, "Yes, and when he found out what he'd help create, he did everything he could to stand up to it, felt he should fix his own mess, never mind it wasn't his fault."

"W-well, he always was a very brave man." They both knew that wasn't what they were talking about right now.

"He was, and the world needs you to be as well, nobody need know." Kate whispered to him.

"Who-who sent you!?" He thundered all of a sudden, neither Kate nor Drake batted an eyelid at that.

Kate took a massive gamble, "Harry Potter" she answered firmly.

Her tone alone, made him believe her. "H-Harry Potter?" He breathed, panic in his face.

"We know you know something about Voldemort, Professor, we need to beat him, but we can't if you don't help us." Kate said, her tone pleading, she'd rather he just say flat out rather than make them take it.

"It-it's not that simple, my dear, I am afraid I don't know-" he tried to deflect them.

"You do, Professor, and we, Kate, Harry and I, need you to tell us, we will make sure no one ever finds out." Drake promised him.

"He will know." Slughorn said, face incredibly pale.

"Not until he's dead." Kate responded with such conviction he almost believed her.

"F-fine." He breathed a big breath. "Tom Riddle created, or was planning on creating, seven horcruxes." He told them, "I have no idea if he succeeded."

"Thank you, Professor." She said gratefully.

"Take the memory of my information, but not the meeting from me, please." He asked them.

"Very well." Drake agreed.

THE NEXT MORNING

"We need to figure out where all the Horcruxes were and what they are." Drake told her as he sat down at their table for breakfast.

She nodded her agreement, "Diary, in Malfoy Manor, ring in the Gaunt...Shack, Locket, Cup and Diadem, one is at Hogwarts, Harry, and probably one more somewhere."

"Yeah, we need to figure out where though." Drake said.

"It'll be somewhere known for its security, and he's already proven he would give his followers some to protect."

"Gringotts vault" Drake said immediately.

"Yeah, and he uses his follower's money, so… his chief lieutenant was Bellatrix Lestrange, so how much you wanna bet-?" Kate theorized.

"Has to be them, Crouch was under his Father's eye, the Malfoy's already have one, Snape was too close to Dumbledore, the Notts, McNairs, and Carrows aren't that rich." Drake mused.

"Ok, so they have one, so that means Lestrange Vault, Hogwarts, the room we were in is as good a place to start for search, since he obviously knew about it." Kate said, he nodded.

"Ok, so maybe Wool's orphanage, would be another place?" Drake guessed.

"I guess, I mean he hates the place and it's isn't very secure but you never know." Kate nodded.

"We need more information, on the Lestrange vault and what the last Horcrux is." Drake said.

"Maybe, Harry will know someone?" Kate asked, "Or we can ask Jake to ask around the order, or one of us could sneak into a meeting with him, we need to map the place anyways."

"Risky, but I think it could be fun." Drake nodded, "But you better go, your the one that will need to know the place anyway."

"Right, I'll talk to Jake, let's visit Wool's today, and then I'm going to open a Gringotts account." She said.

"Good plan."

AN: Sorry for the delay and please REVIEW!


	16. Chapter 16: Gringotts

Chapter 16: Gringotts

JULY 28, 1995 ORDER OF THE PHOENIX MEETING

Jake Castillo did not hesitate to make his way straight over to his now good friend, Sirius Black. They had gotten quite close through various Order meetings and Jake entertaining the man with old stories of the Aurors and Sirius giving him stories about the first war and the marauders. Which he in turn told Harry. It also helped that Jake had pointed out that Sirius should help search for Harry. In other countries he'd never be recognized in his animagus form except by Harry who would probably go straight to him. Ever since then he'd been going off every so often to search, much to his glee.

Sirius had thanked him about a million times since then, and they were then thick as thieves. Jake actually felt bad about how worried Harry was making the man, especially since he knew exactly where his godson was. But the Rogues came first.

"Hey, Sirius! How was France?" Jake asked him as he walked up.

"Good, Good!" He said grandly, smiling broadly, but then he deflated, "But no Harry."

Jake nodded sympathetically, Sirius was clearly quite torn between wanting to keep getting out and wanting his godson back. Jake could understand, but e also knew Kate, wouldn't have this dilemma, not where Harry's safety was concerned. This was their main problem with Sirius, even Harry had been a little bothered, but he also sympathized.

"Harry will turn up." Jake said reassuringly, "If we all just stay alert, these guys can't hide forever."

"I s'pose. How was guard duty this week?"

Jake was on guard duty more than anybody else, anywhere from 6-12 hours a day, and Dumbledore was quite grateful. It left other Order members free to go about doing things and nobody had to worry about Death Eaters getting past Jake. The other things he did were simply helping Order members get into fighting shape and cause some trouble for Death Eaters in the Wizengamot. The fun stuff.

"Quiet, ever since I had the chat with that one Death Eater, Voldemort seems to have lowered the prophecy on the list of importance." Jake grinned. Sirius grinned back at him.

He'd gotten sick of Death Eaters testing the boundaries so he'd simply threatened one and told him that there was no DE getting by him, and he was with some very high ranking Aurors, so everything he did was legal. He hadn't seen a single muncher since.

Said story was also the source of much amusement for the Order, even Dumbledore had chuckled a bit when he heard it.

"Wonder why.." he said sardonically.

Jake grinned and then frowned slightly, "Hey Sirius, I was thinking, what happens to the estates of convicted Death Eaters?"

Sirius gave him an odd look, "The goblins give them to the next available heir, or if there isn't one, they split it with the ministry."

"I see, so vaults like yours, the Lestranges, Dolohovs and the like are property of the ministry?" Jake asked him.

"Well, the Lestranges would have merged with the Blacks first… and the Dolohov vault went to your family.." Sirius said thoughtfully.

"And there was no Black heir? Because I got my full inheritance, even though nobody knew I existed over here, but the goblins did." Jake reasoned, that was true.

Sirius frowned, "Well technically, I was, but I was never convicted so, I don't know who has my stuff. Even if they recognized me as a convicted Death Muncher, I had an heir who should have gotten everything."

"So we could control the vaults of Death Eater families? The ones in Azkaban?" Jake prodded.

"Yeah, in theory...why?" Sirius gave him a confused look.

"Well, if we took them, then Voldemort would lose some serious funding and we could gain some serious funding." Jake pointed out blandly, neglecting to mention the Horcrux in the Lestrange Vault. Ideally, Harry could get access for them.

Sirius's eyes lit up, "We could! Let's bring it up in the meeting, maybe we could go and get it done tomorrow, even."

"Let's." It was then that Albus Dumbledore entered the kitchen and the room fell quiet.

A LITTLE EARLIER WITH KATE

Who knew casting a Fidelius Charm on an invisibility cloak could be so tedious? They had done all eight invisibility cloaks at once and it had taken hours.

When they had first approached Jake with this, they had briefed the whole group on the Horcrux problem, excluding the Harry is a Horcrux part. Everyone had been suitably horrified and eager to help, so the plans had been drawn up and Harry had been quite excited about their beginning of the plan to retrieve his friends.

The trip to Wool's Orphanage had essentially told them two things, first that it had been torn down and replaced with a modern building that did not house a Horcrux, and second, that Riddle had terrorized one kid in particular, a Dennis Bishop. They had visited him the next day and been told about a cave that he did "freakish things" in, and seriously hurt him. The cliffs of Moher had been their next stop. It had taken them all day to find and then evaluate the cave.

It was the next day that they'd gone back, and well, Kate hadn't cried like that in a long time.

Drake, he'd taken some potion and hallucinated about the worst parts of his life, over and over again. Kate had been horrified and completely unable to help him. She couldn't even get him water until they had left the cave with the fake Horcrux.

She had apparated him straight to Lily. It had been quite the scene in the research lab when they'd simply shown up in the middle of the room apparition jinxes and all. Of course they'd sworn everyone there to secrecy, but it had been a stir.

He was still recovering, they hadn't even been sure he was going to make it, and she had never been more terrified in her life. She had fought tears until the Rogues showed and then simply allowed them to fall, when her strength failed her. She had shunted the locket off to whomever and just sat there in shocked silence as they struggled to clear Drake's system. Thankfully, the others had understood and given her space with their silent support.

Well, except for Harry, who'd sat right next to her and seemed to be not sure whether he was providing or taking comfort. Either way, she was grateful to him too.

The only upside had been that Jake, Frankie, and Harry had destroyed the ring safely and definitely.

Drake was awake and back to his normal self now, of course, but that didn't mean this scare wouldn't stay with Kate for a long time, and make them all hate Voldemort that much more.

Another thing, they had learned that an R.A.B. had come in before them and stolen the Horcrux, maybe even destroyed it. They were still running scans of RABs but so far there wasn't really anybody who seemed to fit.

But at least this moved them forward, she supposed. And now, she was hidden under an invisibility cloak, standing in the main hall of the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, having successfully gotten past Moody. Dumbledore had yet to show, but she was sure he would, and Jake had managed to get her in. The Fidelus on the cloaks meant that it could be wrapped around someone's face and if they didn't know the secret, they'd never know.

Finally, the door opened gently and Albus Dumbledore stepped through. He looked tired and worn, and overall older than normal, but he had looked like that since Voldemort had returned. But swept by, not even noticing her as he made straight for the kitchen. Jake was already there waiting for the meeting to start and talking to Sirius about the Lestrange vault.

Once the door to the kitchen shut behind him, the din coming from the room quieted as the meeting started. It was then that Kate saw a most peculiar sight, three fake ears, on strings lowered to the door crack and began to...listen? She blinked as she watched them, then she heard whispering.

"Shhh, guys! The meeting's starting!" A girl whispered.

There was some shuffling and then silence for a moment, "What is that supposed to mean?" A boy whispered.

"Shhh!" Several voices hissed at him, some more shuffling.

Kate began to walk over to see what was happening and looked up to five kids, two girls, a brunette and a redhead and three boys, two identical and one mouth taller, with their ears to the other end of the string. They must be Harry's friends.

Hermione would be the brunette, Ginny the other girl, Fred and George would be the twins and that made Ron the last one. They would be taking Ron and Hermione. Most of them could take Hermione, but Ron would need Jamie at least to force him. Or Harry to surprise him, Jake couldn't do it and neither could Drake now either.

She looked went up to their floor and began to take note of whose room was obviously whos. Ron's room had a portrait so, they couldn't let it see what was happening, Ginny and Hermione were together, so they would have to be separated first, and Fred and George were above them, as were the adults, so they would have a head start on any Order members. They could wait until everyone had gone to bed to do it and simply have Harry show up and talk them around. Several Rogues under cloaks as back up and they'd be gone before anyone even knew something was wrong.

She nodded to herself, that would work. The only empty room was Regulus Arcturus Black's room, where the house elf supposedly hoarded his junk. If the kids' mutterings were to be believed.

Regulus Arcturus Black-RAB. Oh-oh YES! It was so obvious!

He had disappeared during the first war and nobody knew why, he'd been a Death Eater and then, killed by Voldemort supposedly. Time to take a peak around. She had to pick the lock, but it did open and she extended her senses carefully, the whole house was foul… but downstairs.

It reeked worse, like the ring. She took not care as she scrambled down the stairs and followed her magic straight into a drawing room. She began to look around desperately before freezing. Was she crazy? They'd know there was a security breach and then Harry's friends would not be retrievable. At least she hadn't done too much damage.

She took care to put it all back, making sure the invisibility cloak was the only thing to touch anything. Then she began to look around carefully. She searched through several cabinets and drawers, coming up empty until she came across a glass cabinet and stopped dead. The Locket. The actual locket.

Her breath hitched and she cautiously reached out her hand, feeling for any curses not the actual Horcruxes, it came up clean, so she opened the case and picked it up. This was no fake.

She nodded to herself, well, this became mission accomplished. So.. Locket in cave, nothing with the Blacks, Malfoy's got the diary, Ring was in his family house, something in Lestrange Vault, something in Hogwarts, Harry and one more thing, besides Voldie himself. This was actually working, which made her more excited then she cared to admit.

She grinned to herself and waited for the meeting to conclude.

THE NEXT MORNING AFTER BREAKFAST

The whole team was excited to hear the reports of Jake and Kate, but the latter insisted on waiting until Drake got there. Which he did, eventually.

When he was settled, with fussing by the normally much more relaxed Kate, they began.

"Well, Dumbledore, Sirius and I are going to go to Gringotts and cease a bunch of Death Eater Vaults tomorrow, I'll find a way to get the Lestrange Vault to us."

There was a collective cheer and he took a mock bow. "Thank you, Thank you."

When they quieted themselves, Kate grinned at them. "Well, I have a plan for Harry's birthday, and I also found the real locket Horcrux."

There was an uproar of questions at her pronouncement. "Where is it?"

"Did you get it?"

"What's the plan?"

"You think it's doable?"

She whistled loudly to get her friends' attention and they fell silent. "I have it here." She gestured to the bag next to her. "I think Drake should do the honors this time, and quickly."

Everyone agreed rather quickly and Drake rubbed his hands together, "I'll be back in a moment."

He took it, stood and walked out the door. There was a loud roar and a moment later he returned, a large smile on his face. "All done."

They all laughed at the glee he exhibited and then Kate moved on to her next thing. "So Jake, you are looking for anything that reeks of the magic that the ring had."

He nodded at that, "I remember it, so I'll be good."

"Ok, as for my plan, I think Harry, me and two others can go, we'll sneak in with Jake and then wait until they all go to bed, Harry will need to cast all the spells so that way our magical signatures won't be traced, but they shouldn't be that hard."

Several nods, and then Jamie and Frankie volunteered to go to Order HQ. "Ok, so, since there is an order meeting scheduled for that night, after everyone is in bed, we'll silence Ron's room first and then Harry can wake him and hopefully make him cooperate, if not, Jamie can knock him out and take him. Then we'll stun Ginny and do the same for Hermione, if Ron cooperates, he can join you, if not he and Jamie will have to wait in the hall. We need to get out without waking anyone."

There were several nods as they worked out how they'd get them back, first to a hotel in Mexico, then they bring them to the states, after they vetted them. Finally, the prophecy came up again.

"We can hear it during Jake's shift that morning and then take some naps before we get your friends." Jamie said easily. Several nods and they were ready to go.

JAKE AT GRINGOTTS THE NEXT DAY

He stood at the steps with his "pet dog" which had taken a glamor to make it much smaller, and a light, almost tan, brown. It had taken a lot to make Sirius agree to look like a Labrador, but Jake and Albus had managed, eventually.

Now, as Jake and Sirius stood there, waiting for Albus, they were both grateful they had taken the precaution as Lucius Malfoy had walked by and not even spared him a glance. He had finally given up on even talking to Lord Castillo. Albus was right on time as the crowds parted around him, whispers flying as he was rarely spotted doing such a mundane thing as walk, down Diagon Alley, of course. He greeted both of them with jovial smile, and Sirius barked a greeting.

"Hello, Lord Dumbledore." Jake greeted giving nothing of their relationship away.

"Good Morning, Lord Castillo." Albus returned politely. "And hello to you too, Lord Black." He said to Sirius, his eyes twinkling madly.

Jake was hard pressed to keep his reaction to a smirk. Sirius gave him an indignant look.

"Shall we?" Jake gestured to the doors and Albus gave a curt nod.

"Lead the way." He responded easily.

They made their way into the bank, ignoring the stares and whispers around them and Albus looked horribly amused about people actually pointing at him, like he hadn't taught them for 7 years. They found a teller with a small line and waited their turn, another thing that seemed to amaze everyone around them.

When they got to the front, Albus spoke, "May we see the Black and Castillo account managers?" He asked him in perfect gobbledegook.

Jake grinned at the fact that he knew how to speak it too. He now knew five people that could speak it, Cella, Drake, Kate, another team six Auror, and Albus.

"Right this way sir." The goblin responded and hopped off his stool.

He lead the way to a familiar office, the Castillo account manager's office. Said manager was in his office and quite curious about the peculiar group now occupying the room. A moment later, the teller returned with who must have been the Black account manager.

"Greetings, Sharpclaw." Jake began, figuring that getting some favor would be the best way to start.

"Greetings, Lord Castillo. Can you inform Lord Black that the Goblin Nation is neutral ground for him, and he may resume him normal form?" Sharpclaw responded.

"Sirius, you can change back." Jake told him. A monomer later, a decently well groomed Sirius Black stood in the office, a large smile on his face.

"Hello, Grindsword!" He said with a bow. It was improper, but not rude, and the goblin seemed used to the man's antics, as he simply inclined his head. "Greetings, Lord Black."

Jake gestured to Albus, "Lord Dumbledore is accompanying us today, for extra protection for Lord Black. We trust him to retain the confidence of this meeting, and he is of vital importance to the topic and how it came about."

Both Sharpclaw and Grindsword nodded in acknowledgement.

"We want to know if I have control of the Black vaults?" Sirius said bluntly.

Grindsword nodded, "You do indeed, Lord Black, you are the former heir of the Black Family. As you were never convicted of any crime, you are therefore Lord Black."

He grinned, "Brilliant! Thank you, Grindsword!" He said happily.

The goblin once again inclined his head.

"We also wanted to know if any family vaults fell to us, due to the conviction of their entire family to Death Eating." Jake said, sticking with English so Sirius understood him.

Said man barked a laugh at the phrase "death eating" and even Dumbledore cracked a smile. The goblins, too, looked vaguely amused.

"Several have, to the Castillos, the Dolohov, Rockwood and Crouch vaults, and to the Blacks, the Lestrange and the Rosier vaults." Sharpclaw informed them, reading off two pieces of paper.

"Excellent! Can we combine all of that extra money into one vault and all the artifacts into another?" Jake asked, hoping Sirius would copy him.

"For a small fee." Sharpclaw confirmed.

"That is fine with me." Jake agreed.

"Grindsword, please do the same for me." Sirius said.

"Of course, Lord Black."

"Now, I want to go see what junk I got!" Jake chirped.

Sirius gave him an odd look. Jake knew he needed Sirius to want to go to the Lestrange vault, so he defended himself, "Never know what might be useful." He said meaningfully, and shooting Dumbledore a sideways look.

"I guess..."

Five minutes later they were poking around the Crouch vaults, they found a lot of things that were going to be free gear for the Order and put it in a bottomless bag. After that, they warily nullified all the curses on the Dolohov vaults and had stripped it of useful things for the Order and things they wanted for themselves (Sirius and Albus had both found various knickknacks they wanted too), then the Rockwoods. By this point it was so many different things that it wasn't difficult for Sirius to agree to pay his vaults a visit.

They went to the Rosier vaults first and proceeded to get a fair few more things. Albus idly commented that they might not need to buy stuff for the Order for a while, but if they did, they had more than enough before they'd even have to go back to the Order funds.

Sirius had grinned like a loon and happily proclaimed that there was still another two vaults to visit. When they reached the Lestrange vault, Jake pushed out his magic as subtly as possible and quickly made his was over to a shelf of chalices. He glanced at them over, trying to quickly survey them, clearly, this Horcrux was Hufflepuff's cup.

What was her emblem? A possum? Or was it the Lion? He looked around until he saw what had to be it. It radiated Dark magic and had the emblem of a badger, which jogged his memory of Kate's explanation. "Ravenclaw is an eagle, Hufflepuffs are the badgers."

He glanced around, Sirius said he could take whatever he wanted…Dumbledore was nowhere in sight, he quickly waved his wand to nullify the curses on it and then summoned it to him. He quickly charmed it to mask the magical signature. It wouldn't do to have Dumbledore sense it's presence, and then shoved it in his bag.

He pretended to be rifling through some nearby gadgets when Sirius came by, "Mate, this has got to be your best idea yet!"

Jake gave him a genuine grin, "Thank you, I try."

Sirius slapped him on the back and began to help him sort through the stuff.

AN:::: I have decided, as you may be able to tell, that I am going to slow updates down to once a week because I don't have time to write chapters as fast as I have been. I'm sorry but thanks for sticking with me. I am not, nor will I, abandon this story. Please REVIEW!


	17. Chapter 17: The Prophecy

Chapter 17: The Prophecy

A FEW DAYS LATER, JULY 30

The morning of July 30th dawned far too quickly for the Rogues. Today was a big day for them, they had prophecies to hear, kids to kidnap and then a birthday to get ready for tomorrow. At least, they had gotten another Horcrux thanks to Jake's efforts. Kate and Jamie had dealt with it swiftly when he returned and nobody thought anything of it. On a side note, the Order had gotten millions worth of equipment and even more Galleons thanks to the now quite beloved (in the Order), Jake.

He was inducted into the Order's inner circle, because at this point, he'd well earned everyone's trust. If only they knew...at least he'd never betray them to Voldemort or anyone bad.

Harry was full of nerves as he picked at his breakfast, while Kate and Jamie were quite used to it, and Frankie was figuring that an empty stomach wouldn't help today. Jake had already departed for guard duty and they were preparing to leave themselves.

It was 10:00 in the morning in the Montana and 5:00 at night in London. Jake would be on guard duty until the order meeting at 8, and the ministry was closing now, which meant that the building would be clear within an hour. So they had to get in, under the cloaks and to Jake within said hour, and not too early or late. After that, they had to find the prophecy, listen to it, return it and leave before Jake's replacement showed at 7 on the dot. Then they had to get to 11 Grimmauld place, Jake said that was simply where they needed to go, he didn't say why. He'd meet them there at 7:45, which left them time to eat and then relax for a while.

They arrived at the ministry atrium, at 5:47 and got an elevator down to themselves at 5:51. They were at the far end of the corridor of the department of Mysteries at 5:56 and next to Jake at 5:59. The only reason they could see each other was because of special charms on their eyes that allowed them to see through invisibility cloaks for an hour at a time, plus the fact they knew the "secret" hiding the cloaks. They would have to redeem them after they left, which was yet another time constraint. Jake wordlessly opened the department door and gestured them through, mummering "Through the time room, which is the one with the big veil, then it's row 97."

Kate nodded curtly and lead the way in. She opened the first door on the right and peeked in. Not finding what she was looking for, she went for the next one, after that one failed she went to a middle door.

The veil thing Jake had mentioned must have been there for she waved Jamie, Frankie and Harry in. Harry could feel his heart pounding as it tried to escape his chest as he walked towards the door. When he reached it, they entered a dark, stone room, with a large stone frame from which an eathral looking veil fluttered on a large stone dais. As he moved closer, he could hear whispers and voices coming from the other side.

As he peered around, praying they, by some miracle, wouldn't be caught, he found nothing. Jamie, however, quickly pulled him back.

"Don't!" She hissed.

He nodded vaguely and tried to ignore the noises. "Can you hear what they're saying?"

"No, it's just sounds like mummers to me." She said, "Can you?"

"No, it's like whispering voices that I'm not close enough to make out." Harry responded as they followed Kate and Frankie.

The two women in front of them opened up yet another door and went through. Harry would have been lying if he'd said he wasn't worried about what the prophecy was going to say and nervous about being caught and sent back to the Dursleys.

The room they entered was huge and cold. There were rows upon rows of shelves with glowing orbs on them, the only light in the room. It almost seemed like there was a light mist swirling in the room. The shelf in front of them read 53 and the one on the right of it, 54.

Frankie led the way down the rows, 55, 56, then a while later, 78, 79, 80...94, 95, 96...97. They were there. Turning down the aisle, all four began to scan the shelves for the right label, suddenly, Kate spoke up, "Here it is." Her voice had an odd note to it, as if she wasn't quite sure how she felt about everything.

S. P. T. to A. P. W. B. D.

Dark Lord

and Harry Potter (?)

"You have to take it off the shelf, Harry." Frankie whispered, gesturing for him to come to the front of their group.

He exchanged a nervous look with Jamie and took a step forward. He heard Kate mutter something to Jamie as she switched places with him, but paid them no heed. Carefully, he picked up the orb and held the small thing in his hand. It was pleasantly warm, unlike the rest of the room, he looked to Frankie for help.

"Twist and pull, let the wisp come out, and when it's done, let it go back in and put it back." She instructed sounding every bit the professor.

He nodded jerkily and carefully did as instructed, as soon as the top portion came off, a vapor of a women blew out and formed in front of them. She was thin and had large glasses on that made her look like a human fly. She was dressed in shawls and looked slightly drunk, her eyes were glazed over and she spoke in a harsh rasping voice. It was Professor Trelawney.

Harry gaped for a second but quickly focused on her words when she began to speak

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches,

Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the Seventh Month dies,

And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, But he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not

And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives,

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the Seventh Month dies."

The four friends were silent as they committed each word to memory. Harry's mind raced with the implications.

Seventh month...that was July, he was born at the end of July, he had no idea if his parents had "defied" Voldemort three times, but possibly, if they had been Order members? Marked as his equal...his scar maybe? That made sense. But he had no special powers, so he didn't understand the last part.

He looked at his friends in confusion, "What did that mean exactly?" He had suspicions, but he wanted to be sure.

Kate was having none of it. "You know what it means." She wasn't unkind when she said it.

"I either have to kill him or he'll kill me, it has to be me, nobody else can do it."

"Until the prophecy is completed at least." Frankie said cynically.

Harry swallowed, "Yeah-then it becomes null and void I suppose."

Jamie glared at Frankie, "Harry can do it, that's the whole point, he's got something special about him that no one else has."

"But what?" Harry asked, "I'm just Harry, there isn't anything special about me."

"There are plenty of things special about you." Kate said flatly, "But this could be interpreted several ways, you could have a special power, or a trait. You could be the only one able to kill Voldemort and whoever wins becomes immortal, or once it is over, you can both be killed by anyone."

Harry just stared at her. "But right now, for sure, only I can kill him."

She purses her lips but nodded curtly. "Yes, but you don't have to do it alone."

"It's got to be me that-" he argued, it was literally in the prophecy.

"It has to be you that "vanquishes" him, does that mean kill or defeat? Because in theory I or Drake or Dumbledore could defeat him, you could kill him, or vice versa. Or this could be one of those self-fulfilling ones that only become true because everyone believed them." Kate cut him off.

She had a lot of good points, "I suppose, but it still comes down to me wanting to be the one that beats him, doesn't it?"

"Yes" Frankie said, "That's the crux of the matter."

"So then, it doesn't really matter, because he murdered my parents, and Cedric, and it's his fault that Neville doesn't have his parents. He needs to die."

"Well, if that's how you approach it then, yeah, that information is useless to us. But we should leave it to scare Voldie." Jamie grinned, her (large) prankster side coming out in full.

Harry grinned back at her, his own mischievous side making itself known. "It would not be nice to take something he obviously wants pretty bad..."

He opened the orb to allow the misty figure to go back and then shut the lid, carefully replacing it back on the shelf.

"Let's bounce!" Jamie beamed, and positively flounced out.

Harry and the others snorted and followed the impish professional quidditch player.

NUMBER 11 GRIMMAULD PLACE, LONDON-7:45 PM

Harry glanced around, wondering where the Order was supposed to meet. The street was nearly dark and the whole neighborhood seemed like somewhere you didn't want to be when it got completely dark. The houses were townhomes with no break between them and many yards seemed uncared for in a way that would give his Aunt a heart attack. The odd thing about it was, there seemed to be something missing but he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what it was. When he asked his companions, they had all given him blank looks, before Kate had snapped her fingers and said suddenly, "Fidelus, remember?"

Looks of dawning comprehension were her only answer. Now, in front of number 11, waiting for Jake, Harry could honestly say he would go crazy with anxiety if they waited any longer. He ran the spells he needed to cast over in his head again to keep himself busy and glanced at his wand. They had removed the trace for the night so he wouldn't be in trouble for underage magic, but he was still a little nervous. The plan was simple, but he was still crazy from all the waiting, even dinner seemed to drag when they'd stopped at a McDonalds in disguises and eaten several cheeseburgers between all of them.

7:44 seemed to last forever but when his watch changed to 7:45 he felt dread flood him. Was this really a good idea? In all his past adventures, he'd never gotten this much time to think about it, but now that he did, he couldn't help but second guess himself.

The other Rogues' adventures had all been carefully planned and measured, usually. Most of the time they had thought everything through instead of going on the spur of the moment like he, Ron and Hermione had. Circumstances and all that. Plus they were a lot less rash as a group. There had been a few of the rash ones too, but not as often as Harry seemed to find trouble.

Jake popped in right on time. He barely made a sound when he appeared and looked over to his waiting (under invisibility cloaks) friends. They had all redeemed their eye charms to last until well after they could redo them again. Moody or not.

He made a small gesture that everyone else would see as him rifling around in his pockets for a moment, but they knew was their que to link hands. Kate would put a hand on his shoulder and he would walk them through.

As soon as her hand hit his back he stopped pretending to see if he was followed and began to make his way to the door. As they got closer, Harry had to force himself to keep moving as quite suddenly, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place came into view. The two houses seemed to stretch apart as they made space for the new addition, nobody else seemed to notice their houses moving quite suddenly.

When they opened the door, Jake entered and Kate yanked his cloak off his back, forcing it to fly into the hall like a sudden gust of wind. She made sure she was still touching him (stepping on his foot) when she did this. They all made it through by the time he'd gotten his cloak and shut the door. Nobody looked suspicious in the slightest.

"Damn wind!" He cursed.

Someone behind him let out a bark of laughter and Harry recognized the pale man with a jolt, his godfather, Sirius Black. Jake shot him an annoyed look, "Laugh it up, fur ball." He grumbled.

Harry was hard pressed to fight a laugh at the Star Wars reference, Sirius, however, had no such qualms. "Star Wars fan too, eh?"

"They were even bigger in the States, than here." He retorted.

"Naturally" Sirius smirked and lead the way into the kitchen, the two talking animatedly.

Harry was torn between jealous that Jake got to spend so much time with his godfather, and happy Sirius had a good friend to talk to outside of Remus. He didn't get to ponder it for long as quite suddenly, five teens had appeared at the bottom of the stairs and where talking to someone in the meeting already.

Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins all sounded quite upset when Mrs. Weasley came to the doorway.

"-absolutely not! You aren't members and you are too young! I won't hear another word! Upstairs NOW! And I better not find anymore of those blasted ears either!" She ranted at them.

"We're of age! You can't keep us out! We have a right to decide what we want to do!" One of the twins, George, argued.

"Harry is MISSING! And he's our best friend! We have a right to know what is going on!" Ron exclaimed, ears red.

"Mrs. Weasley, you have to let us in-don't make us take things into our own hands!" Hermione threatened angrily.

"You are my children, I can keep you out, you don't have a right to know and you can't tell me what to do!" Mrs. Weasley yelled back, puffing up in anger, her eyes wild.

"Do you really want Ron and Hermione taking things into their own hands!?" Ginny screeched.

"They will be doing no such thing! Go back to your rooms, all of you! You are CHILDREN!" She thundered and they all went reluctantly, grumbling angrily the whole way.

Harry felt bad that they were trying to help and were being rejected while he, worrying them out of their minds, was perfectly ok and in the thick of things. Well maybe, if they had been honest with him and answered his letters, told him anything, or given him any kind of help, they wouldn't be in this mess! He thought, old anger resurfacing.

Frankie put a hand on his shoulder, still covered by the cloak. "Relax, they have already gotten their dues with their treatment of you, you are even, they have been suffering this much worse and longer than you did." She whispered.

Harry immediately felt bad for his thoughts, there was no point in being angry. His friends had been dealing with this for twice as long as he, not knowing whether he was alive or not, no information, besides a few tidbits from the Order… He could forgive them, he did forgive them, he only hoped they could forgive him.

Harry wasn't sure how he felt about Dumbledore when he swept through, until he walked straight up to Sirius and asked, "Any sign of Harry?"

Harry couldn't help but smile at his worry about him, at least he cared. Or maybe he only cared because of the prophecy, Kate had said that the initials of the person who heard it, matched his, Harry would bet anything he had. His weapon, only cared about his weapon, Harry thought bitterly. In retrospect he'd been a fool to think Dumbledore cared about Harry himself, more than anybody else. He cared about the boy-who-lived being physically safe, that was all. But then again, he had sounded quite concerned about Harry.

He didn't even know, Drake seemed to believe Dumbledore cared about him. So did the other Rogues, but Harry had his doubts. But… Dumbledore had always acted like he cared. He shook his head to clear those thoughts when Kate gestured that they should begin to move up the stairs and into position. Thankfully, all of Harry's friends were in Hermione and Ginny's room together which allowed them to get into Ron's rather easily.

As soon as they got in, they sat down on the bed and Harry renewed the vision charms with Jamie's wand. They pair worked well enough and the new wand mixing with Harry's magic would make a totally different magical signature. Kate further distorted it by mixing a bit of her own wandless magic and some latent magic from the house, into.

The wait was long and grueling. When Ron and Hermione had stepped back into the room before dinner and after the meeting, they had all scrambled against the far wall so they wouldn't accidentally be walked into. Then dinner had seemingly dragged on forever.

After dinner, they had run around for a while and Kate had snuck out to check if everyone had gone to bed at around 1 am (London time). She silently entered again and nodded her head, they were all asleep. Harry swallowed his nerves and waved his wand, concentrating hard on the spells he was casting. He had learn silent casting a week ago and could do it, but he wasn't perfect.

He felt the spells take effect nonetheless. He pulled off his cloak and dropped it on the empty bed, his bed most likely. He saw Jamie take her position on the other side of his best friend, just in case. Kate and Frankie waited by the now closed door. Swallowing his nerves, he quietly shuffled over to Ron and shook his shoulder, "Ron!" He hissed.

Naturally, Ron didn't even break snore. He shook him a little harder and muttered, "Ron, Ron! Ron! Wake up you prat or I'm going to dump water on you!" He shook him extra hard this last time.

Finally, Ron's eyes snapped open, "Wha's happ'inin?" He slurred. Then his eyes cleared and he sat up straight, "Harry!" He exclaimed excitedly.

Harry grinned at the redhead, "Hey mate!" He said, sharing his excitement, "Let's go!"

Ron's smile faltered slightly, "W-what? What do you mean, "let's go"? Aren't we staying here?... How did you even get in?"

Harry sighed, "Ron, I can't stay, I'm going back to where I was, and they said I could bring you 'Mione with me, they got me in."

Ron looked really confused, "You want to go back to your kidnappers!?" He asked him incredulously.

Harry shook his head, and Ron whispered hurriedly, "Then come on, we can wake everyone else, you won't have to go back! They can protect you!"

Harry shook his head, that wasn't what he meant. "No! I mean, they didn't kidnap me, they are my friends they rescued me from the Dursleys." He explained to his confused friend.

"Rescued you!? You've been missing for weeks, mate." He argued back.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to be found, come on, you and Hermione need to come with me, it's actually loads of fun. They have horses, quidditch, and just about anything you could want to do, even a huge library." With the people living there, they had simply converted one of the cabins into their private library. Harry didn't care much for reading, but Hermione would be watering at the mouth at the kind of information in there.

Ron stared at him, "Harry, you alright mate? What's wrong, you aren't acting right?"

"It's me, Ron, my patronus is still a stag, I still love treacle tart, I'm still a seeker, I still don't know what I want to do when I'm older…" he told him some things only he knew.

Ron nodded, too stunned for words. "C'mon, mate, I expected this from Hermione, and didn't you both threaten to take things into your own hands earlier? I know what's been happening, and my friends and I have been fighting…doing things to stop him." Harry implored.

Ron's eyes widened, "Seriously?"

Harry nodded solemnly, "Come with us, you'll be completely safe and you won't regret it."

Ron stared at him for a long moment, "I need to pack my stuff." He said finally.

Harry beamed at him, "Great! Then we need to get Hermione, we'll get out of here with no one knowing a thing."

Ron sprung up and went to his trunk and opened it, "Can you get all of the clothes out of the dresser?" He asked his best mate.

Harry nodded and began to stack his friend's clothes while Ron got all of his things from around the room. Book, candy, potions ingredients and other things got tossed in and then robes, uniforms and regular clothes were put in. Finally, they were ready, Ron had only needed to sneak out to grab a few things, but all in all it had only taken ten minutes. Shrunk and put in his pocket, both boys, armed with only their wands and Harry's cloak, pulled of the silencing charms and left.

They crept to Hermione's room next and Harry cast a sleeping charm of Ginny that would make her sleep for another 6 hours. Ron shot him an alarmed look but he quietly explained what it was after he put up his silencing spells again. Ron gave a nod of agreement at the explanation and they both hovered over Hermione for a moment.

Hesitantly, and expecting a much louder encounter, Harry shook his other best friend's shoulder and whispered, "Hermione!"

It only took one more shake before she was completely up and alert. "Harry!" She practically screeched, both Harry and Ron shushed her however.

"What are you doing here!?" She hissed, her eyes full of wonder.

"We are taking things into our own hands!" Ron said excitedly.

She frowned at him slightly and Harry spoke up, "That is what you wanted to do, right?"

She gave him a part amused, part annoyed look, "I wanted to find you, not run away with you."

"Well, Harry wasn't kidnapped, his other friends picked him up and he's been with them, actually fighting." Ron grinned.

Hermione looked sorely tempted. "But this is reckless, and Ron what if he's being controlled or forced to bring us?"

Ron frowned slightly, "I'm not being forced to bring you! I wanted to spend part of my summer with you and they agreed." He told her flatly. "I'm not lying either, you guys would love the place, best library I've ever seen, and my friends are good. I can't say too much in case there are recording charms in here, but you guys would love it, and didn't you always say you wanted to meet them?"

They had heard inclinings of what the Rogues were and had gotten up to, as well as who they were and their connections to Harry. But it had all been very vague and mostly things they did for Harry, making him the person he was, protecting him from the Dursleys, picking up Norbert. Not much information at all.

Hermione's eyes widened, "You've been with, with.. that lot?"

Harry nodded happily and Ron grinned, "C'mon, Mione, we got to go!"

She sighed, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes!" They both said seriously.

"...Fine."

AN::I have been editing some of the earlier chapters for grammar and coming up with some one-shot ideas for mini-prequels of Harry's childhood, let me know if there is interest in that. ALSO...Please REVIEW!


	18. Chapter 18: Missing In Action

Chapter 18: Missing in Action

Hermione's trunk took even less time to pack and they had gone before anyone even knew what had happened. Harry had led both his friends down multiple streets for several minutes before Kate, Jamie and Frankie showed themselves. No introductions had been made as they portkeyed and apparated them in a roundabout way to the ranch, citing security. They checked for tracking charms (they were clean except for one on Ron, by his mother probably) and then jumped around some more, before they arrived.

They were quickly led to their rooms by Harry who also fielded their questions.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked as they climbed the stairs.

"We are at Ross Ranch, next door to Glacier National Park in Montana, the United States." He said cheerfully.

"We are in the States!?" Ron exclaimed in awe.

"Yep, my friends are Americans, Kate and Jamie lived in Britain for a while but they are Americans. They all graduated from Ilvermorny." He confirmed.

"How many of them are there?" Hermione asked.

"Including me? Nine, ten if you count Drake, though nobody does."

"What do you guys do around here?" Ron asked him looking around with wooden mansion curiously.

"All kinds of stuff, horseback riding, hiking, boating, rafting, swimming, playing basketball, quidditch, movies, video games, you name it." Harry grinned, "But we also do a lot of studying, plotting and learning."

Ron groaned while Hermione let out a squeal of delight. "What kind of things do you learn?" She asked him.

He shrugged, "dueling, mind arts, school work, warding, whatever we need or Kate feels like we need."

"Who's Kate?" Ron asked.

"You'll see, she was one of the girls apparating and portkeying us around." Harry said.

"Was all of that really necessary?" Ron complained again.

"Yes, we have super strong wards that remove the trace, you are free to do magic without consequences, but it's still better safe than sorry." Harry defended his friends.

"Harry…" Hermione frowned, "How old are your friends? Are there parents around here?"

"Kate and Jamie's mum and dad, but otherwise no. And they are the only siblings in the group. They are between 20 and 22." Harry admitted. "Responsible when it matters, but bloody fun otherwise, and they don't treat us like little kids."

Ron gave a whoop at that. "They let you sit in on meetings?"

Harry gave him a smirk, "No. I am a member of the little squad, and should they find you two agreeable, you will be too. But you will be allowed to know stuff." He promised.

Both of his friends looked very pleased by this. They spent the rest of the trip in silence and went down to the kitchen for dinner after they dropped off their stuff. Both Ron and Hermione were going off adrenaline right now, but after things settled, they'd probably be out like a light.

Dinner was not too much later and Harry dragged Ron and Hermione into the dining room, which was completely empty, but a stack of plates and utensils. Harry could hear Tiff and Jamie in the kitchen cooking and had to fight a grin as he looked at his two friends, who looked very uncomfortable where they sat.

"Don't worry, everyone is really nice." He reassured them, "Usually loud, maybe not tonight though."

Hermione nodded wordlessly while Ron glanced towards the door, "Where is everyone? And how exactly did you guys meet? How close are you?"

Hermione looked like she also wanted to know the answers to these questions.

"Well, we met when I was four, I think, or maybe three but near my fourth birthday. Kate and Jamie were 9 and 11-Jamie's birthday was coming up soon too- and they were moving in across the street. They met me while they were exploring and I was hiding from Dudley, then my aunt and uncle had locked me out-"

Hermione gasped in horror and Ron also looked alarmed. "Mate-"

"...I'm sure they would've let me back in eventually." Harry continued, "But, yeah, they found me and Kate bought me an ice cream, after chasing away Dudley's gang of course, it was by the time I got back that I realized I'd been locked out…"

That was as far as Harry got before the door opened and in walked Jake.

Harry stopped talking as Ron and Hermione whirled around. It took them all of a second to recognize one of the newer Order members.

"You!" Ron exclaimed loudly while Hermione exclaimed, "Jake!"

Jake froze, caught like a deer in the headlights. "Hel-lo." He said changing pitches of voice in the middle of the word. "Welcome to the Ranch."

"What are you doing here!?" Ron demanded, but before Jake could answer, Hermione did.

"You're a spy!" She exclaimed. "You are spying on the Order for these people!"

"What?" Ron asked angrily, looking between the two.

"Yeah, but I do want the same thing as them, I'm just looking out for Harry first."

"You're a traitor!" Hermione exclaimed.

"No-I'm on the light side, but my loyalty is not to the Order first, its to the Rogues."

"The Rogues?" Hermione prodded.

"It's what we call ourselves." Harry cut in. "This group, my friends, their-"

"Only involved with Voldemort because he's after Harry." Jake finished, "Harry is one of us, he's got huge stakes in this war and we'd do anything for one of our own."

"But you are still betraying-" Hermione argued.

"I will only betray the Order if they betray Harry, but we are actually trying to help the Order right now." Jake pointed out.

"But-!"

"Hermione!" Ron hissed, "I think they're all right. Jake has always been brilliant and I believe him. Nothing bad has happened yet and do you really think Harry would be here if they were helping You-Know-Who?"

Harry decided not to point out that he would.

"...ok, fine." Harry shot Ron a grateful look as Hermione deflated. "I suppose it's good to have someone in the Order that's only there for Harry."

Jake smiled, but they were interrupted with the arrival of Frankie and Kenna.

"You're the editor of Witch Weekly!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione, at the same time, stared at Frankie, as if trying to place her face. "I know you from somewhere!"

Harry grinned as Ron and Hermione stared for several moments, "This is Francesca Smith and McKenna Mayer, Ilvermorny Transfiguration Professor and head of Thunderbird House, and the editor in chief of Witch Weekly."

"You are in charge of the whole brand!" Hermione exclaimed, staring at Kenna, "All over the world."

Kenna grinned, "Yes I am, but I do enjoy writing editorials more, I think."

"And you are one of the foremost Transfigurations mistresses in the world!" Hermione said looking back at Frankie.

"Yeah, and I'm a teacher." Came the response, which was then followed by the door opening again.

Neither Ron or Hermione could do anything other than stare like idiots as the President of MACUSA sat down. "Hello." Cella called cheerfully as she waved.

"President Bristol!" Hermione exclaimed wide eyed. She hopped out of her seat and seemed to want to run over but thankfully sat back down.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked her incredulously.

"I live here." She answered breezily, "I'm a Rogue."

Hermione whirled around to glare at Harry, "Why didn't you ever say anything about knowing-"

The door opened again. Hermione turned to look over her shoulder and her mouth dropped open as she fell silent.

"Hey Lils!" Cella called cheerfully.

"Hey Cella!" Lily said back. "Is dinner ready yet?"

Cells shook her head negatively.

Hermione and Ron looked, to Harry, like they had lost the power of speech. Ron regained it first, "Lily Raymond! Didn't you invent the wolfsbane potion!?"

"I had help, but yes." Lily confirmed, sliding into her chair.

"Harry-you are friends with Lily Raymond, Celladonna Bristol, McKenna Mayer, Francesca Smith- and you never thought to tell us!?" Ron exclaimed gesturing around wildly. "Even I know who they are!"

Harry shrugged, "We thought it'd be better if it was more on the downlow." He explained, "But really, I've known them since I was like 5 and they were 12ish. They're really more like my family at this point. I'm Liam Ross by the way."

Hermione and Ron both gaped. "You said you had some old friends, this is not-" Hermione argued.

The kitchen doors opened and Tiff and Jamie walked in carrying platters of food. "Dinner!" They called happily, placing everything on the table.

Frankie waved her wand and the table set itself.

Hermione took one look at Jamie and seemed to not know what to do or say. Every person that walked in was famous it seemed.

"Can I have an autograph?" Ron burst out without thinking.

Jamie gave him a weird look as she fiddled with her oven mitt. "Sure?" She seemed taken aback.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed.

"This is Jamie Ross and Tiffany Lee, Tiff owns a restaurant in New York And has a new one in Hogsmeade."

"So I can be on hand if you need help, mostly." Tiff reminded him.

"I know, I know…" Harry grumbled good naturedly.

"What?" Ron asked, "You opened a restaurant in Hogsmeade to be closer to Harry?"

"I would do anything for Harry." Tiff pointed out, "I'm going to warn you now, you're in a house where we would all do anything for Harry."

"And we're also very aware of what you did to him last year." Jamie added, her rage on noticeable by her clenching fists and flashing eyes.

Ron gulped while Hermione look a little uncomfortable, despite not really having anything to be ashamed of.

"It's fine Jamie." Harry said softly.

"It's really not though." Jamie sighed, she cleared her throat, "DINNER!"

There was silence as everyone just sat down and waited. Ron and Hermione were content to just exchange looks as they stole glances around the table. Harry was hoping that his friends would get along with the Rogues and hoped Kate didn't have a grudge against Ron for his actions from last year.

A few moments passed before the door swung open and the only two other occupants of the house, besides the Ross parents, entered.

Ron fell out of his chair as Hermione's face went slack before she let out a squeal of excitement, "Oh my gosh! It's such an honor to meet both of you!" She gushed.

"Thanks." Drake grunted, moving to take a chair.

Kate gave her a small smile, "It's nice to finally meet you as well."

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed randomly as he got back into his seat, his face red.

Hermione beamed, "I'm a huge fan of your work-your mastery in curse breaking is ever so impressive!"

"Thank you." Kate said graciously.

"How did you complete it in such a short time!?" Hermione asked immediately.

Several other Rogues smirked as Kate engaged Harry's friend in a long conversation about curse breaking, and then masteries in general. Over the course of the meal, Ron and Hermione began to settle down and accept what was happening around them and with Harry. Eventually, the topic of what they'd been up to this summer came up, and with that, the plan for information and action.

"Well, first, Ron, Hermione, you guys have to learn Occlumency, or we can't tell you much, Harry has already learned it. Occlumency will protect your mind from invasion and stop an attacker, or Legilimens from taking information from your minds." Kate told them firmly.

Ron looked crestfallen until Jamie chimed in, "Don't worry, it only took Harry a week or so, and it's not like you are going to miss anything important anyway, we just finished a huge stage of our plans with picking you guys up. We need to plot our next moves and monitor the fallout from this one."

"Will Mistress Ross be teaching us?" Hermione asked timidly.

"I don't think I have time...we are all kind of busy with our current projects." Kate informed her apologetically.

Both Hermione and Ron looked to Jake at the mention of projects, he grinned cheerfully at them, "I will keep an eye on the order and make sure they don't find out the truth."

Hermione and Ron looked uncomfortable for a moment, but ignored the implications and instead, Hermione asked, "So you won't tell us anything until we learn Occlumency?"

Drake shrugged, "I am not a "Rogue" but I can tell you with certainty that they will tell you the important stuff as soon as possible and the details and dangerous things after."

Cella nodded, "Tomorrow as a matter of a fact, but it must be late for you and has been a stressful day for us, so I think bed would be a good idea for everyone."

"Actually, we need a word about the prophecy, first." Harry corrected her firmly.

"That bad eh?" Drake asked him in amusement.

"Prophecy?" Ron asked loudly.

Kate explained, "Your Professor Trelawney made a prophecy about Harry and Voldemort before Harry was born that led to the attack at Godric's Hollow on Halloween. It basically says Harry can defeat him, and is in the Department of Mysteries. It is under 24/7 guard by the Order because Voldemort wants it. We listened to it before we got you."

"Voldemort has only heard half of it." Drake added.

Ron and Hermione looked torn between horrified and delighted, so Harry joked, "What's got you two looking so jolly?"

Ron grimaced slightly, "That's the most information we've gotten all summer, mate."

"Oh, well then you'll be getting a lot more than you bargained for tomorrow, cause that's just the beginning." Harry promised.

"So, the prophecy?" Drake asked them.

Harry recited it for them quickly, the words having been burned into his mind already, and waited for a reaction.

His teammates from their excursion tonight seemed happy to wait for their friends as well.

"So it's exactly what we talked about, only apparently Harry's got no choice." Cella said after a moment.

"Pretty much." Jamie confirmed.

"But he was going to do it anyway, so he had a choice, really, the prophecy is just giving him the choice in the beginning and then saying he'll do it." Lily pointed out.

"So it's completely moot." Kenna concluded.

"Yep." Kate agreed. "Now, we train Ron and Hermione in Occlumency, wait for the Order's reactions, try to work on the last Horcruxes, and Jamie needs to pick a quidditch team."

"I can do the Occlumency." Drake offered.

Hermione squealed in delight while Harry thought it was weird that Drake was suddenly around so much, but then again, he liked action, and it was currently happening here.

Kate agreed with him, "I will work on the Horcruxes with Harry."

Harry could honestly say he was excited to spend time with his unofficial sister. "Sounds good to me."

She nodded and Jake spoke, "I can't wait to see the Order's reactions, although, I do feel bad for them."

There were several laughs at that but nobody argued with him one way or the other. Jamie sighed, "I don't know who to sign with…"

Nobody seemed to know what to tell her until Tiff asked, "What teams are you considering?"

"Holyhead Harpies, Montrose Magpies and Puddlemere United."

Cella, of course, told her the Harpies right away, feminism and all that.

Kate rolled her eyes at her friend's predictability. "Not everything is feminism you know! And I'm literally a feminist icon."

Cella stuck her tongue out at her, unable to deny it. The professional dueling circuit had never seen anyone dominate like her, but the world's best and most powerful wizards club, had a distinct lack of women until she came and took the cake.

Harry grimaced, "Go with Puddlemere."

"Why do you say that?" Jamie asked him.

He shrugged, "They took Oliver Wood in, so I like them."

Kate finally spoke, "I agree with Harry on this one, they have the best future and you would look good in their uniforms. They are giving you the best deal in benefits."

Jamie looked pensive, "I did like their facility…"

It took a few more minutes of back and forth before she agreed that Puddlemere United was the team for her and they decided she could go to them the next day. This way it would look so close together that it would automatically disassociate Kate from kidnapping Ron and Hermione because she was supposedly busy helping Jamie.

"Can we go back to Liam Ross?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"Liam?" Kate asked blankly, "Oh wait! Liam!"

"He doesn't exist, it was always Harry." Jamie said bluntly. "Our brother Liam was always our brother Harry." There was silence for a moment between the Rosses, Ron and Hermione while everyone else talked.

"Oh." Hermione muttered, while Ron sat silently.

They talked for a little longer before Drake left, mostly about how Kate suspected that there was a Horcrux, possibly the Diadem of Ravenclaw in Hogwarts. She refused to say why, but she did tell Harry that he didn't need to worry about that one, and should instead begin trying to think of possible things that could be the final Horcrux. She had an invariably sad look on her face as she told him this, and Drake looked very grim, and he couldn't help but wonder why Kate would be sad Voldemort split his soul. She really was kind, to be sorry for him, after everything.

Shortly thereafter, yawns became the most prominent sound after such a stressful day and everyone agreed their beds sounded wonderful.

Harry completely missed Kate speaking to Ron and Hermione privately, but would note the next morning how nervous they were around her for the next few days.

THE NEXT MORNING AT ORDER HEADQUARTERS 

Molly Weasley could not shake the feeling that something was amiss as she went about getting ready for the day. She couldn't place it, nothing had really happened last night at the meeting, so she shook it off and went downstairs to begin preparing breakfast. Toast, bangers and mash, this morning, and then they had to clean the drawing room and take care of a pesky boggart in a wardrobe from on of the guest rooms. Fred or George could do it, she supposed, even if it was dangerous.

As she began to pull out pots and pans for breakfast, she couldn't help but run her mind back over the argument she'd had with the kids yesterday. It had been awhile since they had gotten so loud and heated. But the worst was when Ron and Hermione threatened to go out on their own and find Harry. She felt a shiver run down her spine involuntarily as she thought about those three, getting in trouble year in and year out, and now with Harry missing! It was simply horrible and unfair, the poor boy, he could be anywhere! What if he was huddled on some street corner, alone, cold, hungry, lost, and waiting for a rescue!?

She cared about him like he was her own, and she could bear to think of the horrors that could be inflicted on the boy. He was just a child, he didn't deserve any of the things that had happened to him in his young life. Losing his parents, the way the relatives treated him, the tournament… and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Well, Albus could, but it wasn't like he hadn't tried everything when it came to Harry. Sirius loved him too, but sometimes they were so careless, so brazen, they were, well, men about something that needed a mother's touch.

It was about how she remembered the feeling of wrongness, what if something horrible had happened? What if he'd gotten caught by You-Know-Who? She didn't know what she'd do, what would Ron and Hermione do? They-they threatened to go after him themselves, what if-what if they had gone? And gotten captured by Death Eaters?

No, they weren't that reckless, that stupid… Hermione wouldn't…but she had been the one to bring it up in the first place...Ron wouldn't...he went into the Chamber of Secrets after Ginny…but that was different, they had known what they were doing...kind of…

No. They would be down for breakfast, same as everyone else.

It took her about half an hour to finish and by that point, everyone except for Ron, Hermione and Ginny were down at the table getting plates and utensils. Sirius was looking tired, but that was to be expected, he had just gotten in from Germany and there was still no sign of Harry. Dumbledore had forced him to take the week off, much to his dismay, but he looked like he needed it.

When she put everything on the table, everyone dug in happily and she sat down. After fifteen minutes, she began to get annoyed, and then worried, when none of the three missing kids even made a noise upstairs. She was about to send someone to wake them, it was their own fault if they went to bed late, when she heard a strangled scream.

"MUM!" It was definitely a girl, and sounded more like Ginny than Hermione. Everyone froze and began to get up, Ginny sounded horrified.

"I'll go, she called for me." Molly told them shakily, her feeling of dread worsened.

She fought the urge to run as she set off at a swift pace up the stairs.

AN:: I hope I did Ron and Hermione's reactions justice... As for the promised one-shot(s), I have several ideas that I am hashing out and am looking forward to hopefully a little more levity and humor in several of them, the Rogues are supposed to quite mischievous after all.


	19. Chapter 19: Dinner and a Date

Chapter 19: Dinner and a Date

EARLIER WITH GINNY

It was probably the best she'd ever slept. It was deep, no dreams, and she felt totally refreshed. Like someone had put a sleeping spell on her… which they better not have, or she'd kill the twins.

Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up and began to rub the sleep from them. Looking around, she realized that Hermione's bed was empty, but unmade. Must have gone to the bathroom or something. She forced herself to get up when she heard voices downstairs and smelled breakfast being eaten. She hadn't even touched the floor when she looked over and realized something, Hermione's stuff was gone, completely gone.

Panicking, she let out a strangled, "MUM!"

Ginny practically flew over to the other side of the room to look for any trace of her roommate. No trunk, no clothes, no books, no wand...nothing. She was gone. Suddenly the sleeping spell made a lot more sense.

Just as she was beginning to think that Hermione had really left, the door flew open and her mother stood framed against it, her eyes wide with panic, her wand out and scanning the room shakily. When her eyes got to Ginny she slumped in relief. "Ginny! Don't scare me like that!" She chided. "What did you want? Where is Hermione?"

Ginny was on the verge of tears as she remembered last night's conversation, how she'd goaded them, to try and leave. She hadn't thought they actually would! But she should have known with them! "That's the problem! Hermione is gone! Her bed's empty, none of her stuff is here, and I was under a sleeping spell! I have no idea where she is!"

Her mother looked alarmed as she began to search the room frantically, "Are you sure you didn't hear anything? That maybe she just moved her things?" Even as she said it, she knew that was simply not what happened, Hermione had left. Foolish girl!

Suddenly, her mother looked panicked for a moment and the words that left her mouth made Ginny's heart sink all the way. "Have you seen Ron this morning?"

"What do you mean? Isn't he at breakfast?" Ginny asked her.

Her mother shook her head, tears beginning to fall. "N-no." She said shakily, and as one they both rushed to his room, hoping beyond hope that he was still there, sleeping late or something. But Ginny had a bad feeling that was not the case.

Sure enough, they opened the door to a completely empty bedroom, bed unmade. Ginny heard her mother let out a strangled sob and Ginny's stomach twisted in her gut, no, no, no. They had not run away, they hadn't been kidnapped, and either way, they hadn't left, this was just a dumb prank, or-or a bad dream.

Ginny heard footsteps coming up their way as she watched her mother tear apart the room, looking for any sign of her son. "What happened?" A voice she recognized as Sirius, asked.

She forced herself to turn to him, "They're gone. Ron and Hermione."

THAT MORNING AT ROSS RANCH

"Hermione, chill." Ron snorted as the two followed Kate towards a yet unknown room. His female friend silenced herself as she shot him a hurt look.

Kate stopped and turned to look at them. "It's quite fine Hermione." She assured the girl, "Ron, it's you who needs to adjust your attitude to academics." She warned.

Ron gaped at her rebuke while Hermione looked between the two awkwardly. "Er… offensive wards that are used during duels, why aren't they classified as curses if they work the same as a curse that expands its range beyond the line of the spell, like a dome?"

Kate turned and continued walking, both teens immediately setting off at a half jog to catch up. "Because offensive wards are held over a specific area and will not move unless the caster moves them. They also must be broken like any other ward, the one downside is the amount of power needed to cast one. In theory you could set it up around an opponent and trap them there, but it is hard to set up a ward around someone you are fighting, especially because you need to make a rune circle around them, which requires them to stay still, or tie a ward stone to them, but that is even worse because you have to put potions of them and put them through different rituals depending on the ward. Spells that are cast and then expand to cover a wider range than simply a small target, like a bombarda maxima, can be blocked with a simple shield or dispelled with a counter curse, but also move where they are fired like any other spell. In addition there are no ward stones or runes required, usually. They also have no permanent effect that must be dispelled, once the spell is over, nothing happens...verses a ward that keeps going until it is broken, thus curse breaking. Which, by the way, I should tell you-the middle between a curse, like any given spell you might think of, and a ward is the curses that are on things like Egyptian tombs...ones that curse you to eternal bad luck or whatever."

"My brother is a curse breaker." Ron blurted out. His eyes widened as he glanced at Kate nervously.

Kate quirked an eyebrow, "Really?" She asked with genuine curiosity. She stopped in front of a wooden door and turned to face both of Harry's school friends.

Ron nodded quickly, eager to dispel the awkward interactions the two had had since he came, and potentially get her to like him...or at least tolerate him more than she had. "Yeah, Bill, he's the oldest, and he works for Gringotts in Egypt. Doesn't have a mastery in it of course, not many do, but he's pretty good. I think he wants to try and find a master to get an apprenticeship with, but we don't exactly have, well," his ears reddened as he looked down, "we can't really afford to go find someone."

Hermione stayed quiet but Kate glanced at him sharply, "He's in the Order correct?"

Ron nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

"Kate." Kate corrected automatically. "Jake told me about him."

"Oh, yeah, I suppose he would have." Ron agreed awkwardly, trying to ignore the anger at someone spying on his family and their friends.

"I was making a few inquiries on his behalf with some of the curse breakers who were considering an apprentice." Kate said. "But now is not the time for that. This is the dueling room, I think it's high time you both learned how to back my little brother up properly."

"Thanks." Ron said sincerely.

Ron decided then and there that these Rogues weren't so bad. Little did he know, Kate had decided to give him and Hermione a similar chance right then as well."

DINNER TIME, AUGUST 13, 1995

Harry grinned as Kate continued to make fun of Jamie. Both Mum and Dad had given up on trying to stop them when they'd graduated from Ilvermorny.

"Remember when we built that pool because Dudley had taken over the community one?" Jamie asked him suddenly.

He grinned, Dudley had bullied him from the word go, and his sisters had various ways of combating that. Sometimes they flat out confronted him, other times they beat him at his own game, and others where they went completely around him. This was one where they did the latter. "Yep, best pool ever, slide was brilliant, though looking back, how much magic did you guys use on that?"

"Quite a bit, but it was still awesome that the government said it was a perfectly regulation pool. We didn't even know there were regulations on this kind of thing when we did it." Kate laughed.

"I remember when you lot were 6, 12, and 13 and all had the flu for a week, never seen people so happy and miserable." Mum chimed in.

Dad chuckled, "I remember that, I also remember when we went to California and started in Tahoe and spent July working or way south. Harry was as good at golf as the girls and he had never played before!"

Harry also remembered that. They had started in Lake Tahoe, then gone to Yosemite, followed by Napa, San Francisco, Monterey, Las Vegas, LA, and then, finally, San Diego. They had spent between two and four days at any given place and had spent quite a bit of time golfing their way through Monterey. He had been 8 going on 9, Kate had been 15 and Jamie had been 14.

Kate blushed, "Not really...I never shot over 80…"

Harry nodded, he had gone to a range with them a few times and had learned how to swing, but he hadn't thought he'd be that good, or that lucky, solid 80s golfer.

"Speak for yourself." Jamie grumbled, "I was all over the map."

"Aren't you always?" Harry asked her innocently. She smacked him.

"At least I didn't go on Space Mountain until I threw up."

"Yeah, I stomached it for six hours, you lasted one." Harry pointed out. They had spent three days on Disneyland alone.

"I went four times after you threw up, until Mom made me stop." Kate pointed out blandly.

"Shut up!" Both of her younger siblings exclaimed in unison.

"At least they agree on something." Mom said to her husband.

He nodded his agreement, "You know, I never expected three kids, especially as we never adopted and you were only pregnant with two…"

"Kate was a real surprise for everyone!" Harry said enjoying the irony.

"Yeah, why'd we have to take her in again?" Jamie chimed in, Kate glared at them.

Then she smirked, "Because their other kids were pathetic."

"Ouch!" Jamie hissed.

"Yeah, you were pathetic, Mom and Dad wanted a kid guaranteed to be awesome." Harry agreed.

"And Jamie gets screwed either way you take it." Kate nodded, and the two high-fived.

"Fine! Hate on the middle kid!" The middle sister hurramped.

"Ok!" Kate and Harry both grinned.

"At least I'm not the moron who takes big shi-poops, before we get in the shower to annoy us!" Jamie defended herself.

Both sisters threw filthy looks at Harry. Once he'd gotten more secure in his family bonds, they had acted more like siblings, inside jokes, teasing, embarrassing baby pictures (Harry had no idea where they had gotten ones of him). He and Jamie always fought more than he and Kate, who also fought the most with Jamie.

"Yes, well you two were so bossy, I had to do something!" Harry said flatly.

"Kate was bossy, not me!" Jamie exclaimed.

"That's true…" Harry admitted.

"Well neither one of you ever had any ideas of what to do! Ever!" Kate defended herself.

"Because we never needed them!" Jamie snorted.

"Children that's enough!" Dad interrupted. "You are 22, 21, and 15. It's ok to act like it."

There was silence for a beat before Mom asked a very good question, "Harry, how much of your life before you met us, do you remember?"

Harry frowned slightly, "Specifics? I don't know before I turned five, but I know I was another Tom Riddle waiting to happen, I was abused and hated, and I was lonely. But nothing else really, as far as I can remember, I have been a Ross my entire life. If I didn't know better and had been told those emotions were from a nightmare, I'd probably think I was born in this family." He admitted. "How about you guys?" He directed this at his sisters.

"Well, I remember stuff from like kindergarten, and up, but you wouldn't have been born anyways, and I met you when I was 11…" Kate said. "As far as I'm concerned you are my friend and little brother, it's kind of weird actually, the conflicting views, it's almost like remembering the seven years before you were born."

Jamie piped up after her, "I remember a little of it, I was 9, almost 10, and my first memories were of when I was six… so that's only the four years you were alive.."

"My first memory is of my fourth birthday party that you guys threw me...then you let me stay at your house for a few days-?" Harry half stated, half asked. "But I know how we met because I remember retelling it to Drake…"

"I remember that.." Kate said with a grin, "That was the day you met the Rogues…"

"Honestly, I remember my time before Harry like Lily remembers the times before her sister. Though I remember living in the US before we moved." Jamie admitted.

Lily had a sister five years younger than she, and she remembered a time before her, but it wasn't clear as far as actual memories go. It made sense to Harry, more clear than he remembered the Dursleys, but not very clear.

"Well remember I thought Harry was older than he was because he was so mature for his age, and he ended up being almost four. It didn't take us long to figure out things were not right at the Dursleys." Kate said, her face scrunched up in thought.

"But we couldn't do anything because they were good at hiding it." Mom cut in and Dad nodded.

"So instead we brought him in unofficially and you two somehow managed to get some guardianship rights…" Jamie concluded. "The only bad part was that he and Kate get all the new stuff while I got hand me downs from Kate."

"You'd have gotten hand me downs either way sweetheart." Dad told her.

She gave him an annoyed look, "I can pretend can't I?"

"Nope!" Harry gave her a huge innocent grin with his answer and she smacked him on the side of the head.

"Owwww!" He exclaimed, rubbing his cheek.

Kate just laughed at them.

It was about now that food came, or the third course anyway. The first two was a salad and then a soup. They ate silently for a moment as they all processed the sushi in front of them. Harry wasn't a huge fan of sushi, but this was good enough that he didn't complain. Mom and Kate both liked sushi and Kate never looked happier than when she was eating (according to Jamie anyway), so they were fine. Dad had a fake smile on his face as he forced the food down so that way the chef wouldn't get all upset. Jamie, on the other hand, made faces and noises with every bite, showing her dislike clearly. Kate and Harry cracked up as each was more ridiculous than the last. Mom looked disapproving but did not stop her, probably because it was her birthday.

But Dad snapped at her, "It's not that bad!"

She gave him a glare but stopped anyway. Kate muttered to Harry quietly, "Is he trying to convince her or himself?"

Which of course sent Harry and Jamie choking with laughter once again as she smirked.

"Kate, you say some very stupid things sometimes, your sister was being childish, in a restaurant where-"

Dad didn't finish because Kate interrupted coolly, "Where she is paying?"

The rest of the course was eaten in silence, but Kate did not look very sorry. Jamie seemed to be feeling bad they were arguing on her behalf and Harry just tried to ignore it. Dad sulked in his seat and excused himself after he was done to go to the bathroom.

"Sorry, Jamie, it's your birthday, you don't deserve this..." Kate apologized to her sister.

"It's not your fault." Jamie said dismissively. The next course, a small teriyaki steak was mostly over by the time Dad returned.

They were having an animated discussion about how to break Jamie's signing to Ron, who had been begging her to go to the Cannons. His best friends had been brought to full speed after passing an Occlumency test by Drake and then Kate, and were quite enjoying their stay. Hermione was constantly peppering everyone around her for information on various topics and delighted that they all indulged her. Ron had been disgruntled at being forced to do all his summer work, but had done it once he realized that Harry and Hermione had long finished theirs.

After that, he'd begun playing quidditch with Jamie and Harry a lot. Jake had informed them that the Order has indeed concluded that Harry had taken them, and was currently looking for all three of them. Hermione's parents had been notified and were upset and terrified by the whole thing, as was Ron's family. It was a small comfort that they were believed to be together. The Order had even found the note they'd left behind saying that they would all be back on August 31.

Kate had been in and out a lot more frequently and Harry had, while missing her, also brought Ron and Hermione up to speed on his actual childhood. They were both stunned to hear about his virtual adoption, and didn't seem to know what to think about the Ross' relationship with him. They were happy for him, but also a bit jealous at his absolute trust with them, and upset that Sirius for example, was competing with and losing to them and he didn't even know it. The Mom and Dad thing they understood, but thought that a lot of the Order wouldn't understand. Ron warned that his mother would be particularly upset because it wasn't Lily Potter or her.

Harry had firmly told them that nobody else's opinion mattered to him, they were his family. When asked why, he had told them the truth, they had never lied to him, never manipulated or used him, ever put others before him, they had been there, when it counted, when he needed them. They had taken him in.

Ron and Hermione hadn't said anything to that. He had reminded them that they didn't know everything about him, but also that besides Kate and Jamie, he was as close to them as he was to any of the other Rogues, mostly. Which of course led to him announcing the Rogues' decision, they were welcome to join, but they had to understand what it entailed. He hadn't mentioned that Kate and Jamie still seemed to hold a fading grudge against Ron (contrary to the way they treated him) and thought Hermione was a little too much of a rule follower.

The Rogues were loyal to each other and their families first and foremost, and everything that came with it. If your family didn't at least know about them, then they really didn't count in that first group, but nobody went above fellow Rogues. Cella pointed out that she, the President of MACUSA, was loyal to the Rogues first and foremost. They had been reluctant, but they agreed.

After that, it was understood that they pooled all resources, abilities and knowledge (including secrets), but they were also pranksters and friends who fought for each other, not some society like the Order. That was much easier for them to agree to.

The secrets part wasn't hard either, as Ron's family had kept a million secrets from him, so he finally had something they didn't know. Hermione already kept a lot secret from her parents so this was no big deal, especially since they probably wouldn't really care about Rogue secrets (beyond who they were) anyway. Finally, they had to agree to do their best to be both troublemakers and success stories, to keep up tradition. This naturally triggered Hermione to become determined to hit the library while Ron grinned and fantasized about being rich.

This was the first time they had added people to the Rogues really, so they thought of everything that made someone a Rogue and put it on the list. Hermione at least figured out what they meant and agreed, even if she thought they were a little too loyal to each other. Ron had to be told they were basically like a bunch of people who treated friends the way Harry did. He didn't have a hard time agreeing to that, with some good natured teasing of Harry, of course.

Harry was brought of his musings as the Ross family got back to normal in time for course number six, scallops. All of these portions were so small that he could probably eat ten of them.

ILVERMORNY SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY, MOUNT GREYLOCK, MA, THAT SAME NIGHT

Frankie glared at the room around her with frustration. There was literally nothing on Horcruxes in this stupid school. Absolutely nothing. Not the library, not the staff library, not in any of the classrooms… nothing.

She had spent all night looking everywhere with Tiff and Kenna… but they didn't have anything more than a vague mention in the biography of Herpo the Foul. That helped a little, she supposed, to know who made them. Maybe Kate could use it to muster something up, but they had nothing. She had nothing.

It was an odd sense of betrayal that she felt at her failure to find any information. The school and library that had held enough knowledge to carry all of the older Rogues through their school years had failed them at the most important juncture they could reach. Harry's life was on the line and for the first time, Ilvermorny had failed to hold the comfort of an answer for the group.

The school had seemed so big, so old, the knowledge so vast and infinite, that surely, their 11 year old selves had reasoned, they could always get exactly what they needed out of the school. This thought had always comforted them...if they had a problem, all they had to do was look up the answer or ask a teacher. It was safe. None of Kate's fans. No danger from the scourers and witch hunters the aurors were constantly chasing away from magical kids too young to defend themselves. No cruel realities from the outside. No wars. No violence. Just pranks, lessons, adventures and stories. It was carefree.

It was part of what drew her back to the school, the opportunity to provide that same comfort to those younger than her and to feel some of that safety again herself. Following Kate through the wars that took down several dark lords directly after school, while pursuing her mastery, had scarred her. She had met the harsh reality of the world, stared it down, and emerged victorious. Then she had gone back to Ilvermorny. She wasn't one for violence. She could handle it and did not shy away...but she also couldn't charge into war the way some of her friends could. It simply wasn't her.

But right now, the safety and infinite wisdom of the best magical school in North America was failing her. It was failing the Rogues and it was failing Harry. Like the ignorant bliss of childhood had been ripped from her once again, in one fell swoop, leaving only the cold, lonely, adult world, where you had to make your own food, pay your own bills, and your home was filled with the silence that came from just you, alone.

And she hated the feeling.

AN::: REVIEW!


	20. Chapter 20: Back Home

Chapter 20: Back Home

AUGUST 31, ORDER HEADQUARTERS

Harry, Ron and Hermione all exchanged nervous grins as they stood on the doorstep of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Their trunks were ready to go to Hogwarts tomorrow and Jamie and Jake had just dropped them off before leaving. The time between Jamie's birthday, then Cella's 22nd birthday, four days later, had passed in a whirlwind. They had split their time between learning and playing, picking up many new tricks in the realm of magical combat and silent magic. Kate had deemed their duelling skills "acceptable" when they had been able, as a group, to duel Jake and Cella to a stand still.

Besides that, Ron had picked up many a tip from Jamie as a Keeper in way of an apology for not signing with the Cannons. Hermione, of course, had spent all her time talking to all of her heroes, who happened to live in the same house. Cella, Lily, Frankie, and especially Kate had been constantly peppered with questions and followed around. None of them seemed to mind and Hermione was pleased to learn from Kenna that she was one of the only people they let follow them like that.

Drake had spent most of his time, after he finished tutoring them, in England looking for that last Horcrux and some information about Horcruxes in general. Harry had no idea what for. Jake had once again upped his responsibilities with the Order, citing how lonely he'd be once the school year started.

The last week had been rather lonely for the newly initiated Rogues, everyone was at work and Jamie had purchased a flat in London with Kate and they had moved in and lived there almost full time. Kenna had even allowed an article on the "Ross' 3.4 Million Galleon Flat" speculating why Kate had moved in with her sister to such a permanent place. Of course the article had gone on about how at that age, many siblings were buying their first flats and moving in together to save costs and how relatable such actions were. But it still posed a good question, why was Kate there? Kate herself had admitted publicly that she had finally settled down and gotten a job in Britain, but she refused to tell anyone what it was.

Harry had tried to wiggle it out of her when she visited, but she had refused to say. It didn't matter now though, as Ron nervously raised his fist to knock on the door.

"We are Rogues, Ron, we got this." Harry told him, sounding more confident than he felt.

His best friends both grinned at that. They may have been skeptical at first, but after a month, they were full converts. Ron rapped on the door.

It took a few moments but the door was eventually opened a crack, and a slightly hoarse male voice asked them, "Who is it?"

Hermione spoke before the others got a chance to say anything, "Sirius, it's us."

The door flew open in a blur and the incredulous face of Sirius Black was revealed.

"HARRY!" He exclaimed and practically tackled the boy-who-lived as he enveloped him in a hug.

Hermione smiled at Sirius' reaction. Ron spoke, "What are we? Chopped liver?"

Sirius and Harry broke apart and Sirius looked at them both apologetically, or as apologetically as possible when you have a beaming smile on your face. "Lo, Ron and Hermione. Are you all ok?" He asked them as he waved them in.

They entered quickly and the door was shut behind them. Sirius led them towards the kitchen, "This is where I lived before I ran away to live with your dad." He told them with clear dislike of the subject.

"Oh." He said, not really sure what to say.

He was saved from elaborating at all when Mrs. Weasley called out in a tired voice. Clearly, she had taken an emotional beating if the strain on her face was anything to go by. "Who was it?" She called from the kitchen.

They reached the entryway and Sirius, still grinning like a loon, threw open the door, most likely startling the occupantants of the room, and proclaimed, "Harry, Ron and Hermione are back! Just like they said."

The triumph in his voice clearly gave away what Jake had told them, the Order was at odds about whether they could believe the note they were left.

There was a lot of shuffling as they made their way in and were surrounded by a lot of talking. All of the Weasley siblings were there (minus Percy and Charlie) as well as Remus Lupin, Mrs. Weasley, and Nymphadora Tonks. The trio was greeted warmly and herded in for lunch while Sirius went to call some people.

By the end of lunch, it seemed like a good chunk of the Order had assembled, including Moody, Jake, Dumbledore and Shacklebolt. Professor Dumbledore sat down across from them, his eyes were not twinkling and he looked unusually stern.

"Welcome back, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, and Mr. Potter." He said, not sounding terribly happy but not completely upset.

"Hello, Professor." They chorused. Harry figures he couldn't be happy with their disappearing act.

"I need proof that you are who you say you are, and aren't planning on betraying the Order to anybody." He told them evenly.

There were several gasps from mostly Sirius and the Weasleys as they began to protest that the trio would do such a thing, little did they know… Harry pulled his Occlumency tighter and knew his friends were doing the same.

"You got an earwax flavored bean in the hospital wing in my first year." He told his headmaster and received a nod of acknowledgement in return.

"You told us help would always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it in Hagrid's hut in our second year." Ron added, getting another nod.

"You sent us to save Buckbeak with a necklace." Hermione finished. Dumbledore slightly relaxed.

"Very well, I need to know where you have been." He told them, his eyes having regained their twinkle of amusement.

They had decided on a version of the truth. "We were out of the country with some of Harry's friends from before Hogwarts." Hermione told him.

"Harry?" He directed his question at Harry.

"More like family, actually, and their parents aren't magical, so you guys wouldn't know them." Harry shrugged. It was then that he felt a small intrusion into his shields and he tightened them as he felt It retreat quickly. Dumbledore's eyes were the only thing that betrayed anything had happened, as they had widened.

He watched the man carefully check his friends' minds and seem stunned when they too, held him out, giving him slight glares. "Are they aware of magic?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, but they can't do any themselves."

"I see." They all knew that they were leaving things out, but they all also knew he wouldn't be getting anymore out of them. "Do you have everything you need for school?"

"Yeah, we took care of it before we left." Ron nodded.

Dumbledore sighed, "I will leave you all alone then, unless there is anything you wished to add?"

They all shook their heads, as he seemed to expect it and he gave them a reassuring half smile, "I will be on my way then," he said as he stood and came around the table, "I leave you all to your catching up."

THE NEXT DAY ON THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS

Harry sighed in relief when they finally made it to their compartment. People had whispered, pointed and stared as he had come by, no doubt because of the Daily Prophet. He found he didn't really care. Kenna had been pressured into printing similar stuff but she had refused and after this summer, he was reminded whose opinions actually mattered. And his classmates were not those.

So once again, his family and the Rogues had his back, he didn't need anyone else. Ron and Hermione had been made prefects, much to his confusion, but Kate had reassured him when they were opening their letters (that she had somehow nicked before anyone could use them to find their location) that it was probably because he had so many other things going on. They both had to go to the Prefect compartment for a meeting, but promised to catch up. He instead joined Ginny, Neville and a girl with dirty blonde hair and a dreamy expression on her face, in their compartment. A Luna Lovegood.

Luna was odd, she didn't make sense with any of her comments, but she seemed to know too much for him to dismiss her as looney, like the rest of the school. What had especially surprised him was when she had asked him how his sisters were, much to Ginny and Neville's confusion. He answered truthfully, but without names and knew that neither of the other two took him seriously, thinking he was humoring her.

Ginny and Neville both talked about their summers as well, Neville was excited about his mimbula minbul-whatever. Apparently he had gotten it as a present from one of his uncles and wanted to demonstrate what it did to the group. Lily would have had a heart attack at the potentially dangerous testing of the plants abilities in such a place, so Harry figured he should stop his friend.

Thankfully he did because no sooner had Neville agreed that they should wait, did Cho Chang pay them a visit. The compartment door opened and Harry turned from where he had been standing in front of Neville to see who the intruder was, hoping it was either Ron, Hermione, or both of them.

"Hey, Harry!" Cho called, her friends giggling behind her.

Harry, who was well practiced at dealing with giggling girls with his upbringing, simply grinned and said, "Hi, Cho! What's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to say hi. How have you been?" She asked him with a smile and light blush.

"Good, all things considered. Got to spend the summer with a few old friends, they've helped me loads." Harry shrugged, "How are you doing?" He realized that she had been Cedric's girlfriend last year, and wondered how she'd held up. He really did feel sorry for her, it must have been a rough summer.

"I'm getting by, it's been hard, but I'm trying to get through it." She told him, eyes tearing up slightly. "Of course you've had it worse."

He sighed, understanding what she meant. "Well, there isn't much I can do about the Prophet, I'm sticking by the truth, and I have been getting someone to talk to about everything, trying to get through everything."

She nodded, "That's good, I guess, you are much stronger than I am."

"It's not about being strong, this has been hard on everyone, but fighting against Voldemort is the best way to honor his death, not going into denial or depression." Harry told her, quoting Lily and Kate.

"You are very brave, Harry. Thank you for doing what you are doing." She said sincerely, smiling once more.

He nodded and she gave him a small wave before she shut the door and turned to leave. He watched her go in slight bemusement, what had she been doing there? He was glad he hadn't botched it though, she was really very pretty, and now that, well she was single, maybe-?

He would have to wait, and maybe owl Kenna, this seemed like her area of expertise. He turned to look back at his friends, Luna was reading a magazine upside down, Neville was doing-something to his plant, and Ginny was watching him with an odd look on her face. He caught her eye and shrugged, and she brightened for some reason and smiled at him.

Harry sat down and pulled out a defense book to read until Hermione and Ron came back. They did shortly and Ron was already bemoaning his prefect duties while Hermione chided him for his attitude. They both agreed, however, that Malfoy as a prefect was the worst decision Dumbledore had ever made, after sending Harry to the Dursleys. Said bouncing ferret had yet to pay them a visit and Harry had just begun hoping they would get a Malfoy free ride when he showed up with his two personal gorillas.

"Well if it isn't Scarhead, Weasel and the Mud-"

He didn't finish as everyone except Luna, Harry and Hermione were up in a flash, Ron held his wand to Malfoy's heart and growled, "Go ahead, finish that sentence. Make my day."

The blonde's eyes widened comically at the speed in which the redhead had moved, even Ginny and Neville looked surprised, Luna still looked dreamy. Hermione, Ron and Harry had all worked exceptionally hard, at Kate's insistence, on their reflexes and movement speeds. They weren't as fast as Jamie, Kate, Jake or Drake, but they were much faster than they had been.

Malfoy sneered, but his eyes betrayed his fear. "You wouldn't dare, Weasel, you'll get in trouble with Mommy."

Harry noticed that even as he said it, he backpedalled away from the wand. "You wanna bet?" He snarled and raised his wand to point it directly at the blonde's face, tip already glowing with a spell.

"RON! No!" Hermione yelled and grabbed his arm to redirect the wand to the ceiling.

Malfoy smirked, "Saved by the mudblood, a new low, even for you." He turned to the rest of the compartment.

"Got to say Potter, beat out by Weasel of all people? Or maybe Dumbledore's punishing you for your little vacation this summer?" He sneered at him with a nasty smirk.

Harry refused to allow himself to look bothered as he responded, "Or I have better things to do than herd first years and Dumbledore knows it." He drawled. "Unlike you."

Neither Ron or Hermione looked as offended as they could have but Malfoy got a pink tinge to his cheek.

Harry continued, "Though I suppose they could be trying to see if you can handle a big boy badge before they trust you with big boy pants."

Ron and Ginny both snorted laughs at the remark and Neville and Hermione both seemed to be losing a fight with a smile. Harry smirked at the look of rage on the pale face.

"Potter!" He fumed, "You better watch your mouth around your betters or you might just end up in detention, or worse." He threatened.

Harry laughed, "Sure, Draco, whatever you say, just don't sprain your brain thinking of a retort." He stood up and pushed him back out the door and slammed them shut.

He turned to the silent compartment and muttered, "Spoiled brat...bet the Rogues would prank him into the founders era."

"Hey! That's not a bad idea!" Ron exclaimed, Hermione smacked the side of his head while Neville and Ginny looked confused. Harry snickered at them as he sat back down and Luna gave him a knowing smile.

Hermione turned back to the rest of the group and sat down, "Hello Neville, how was your summer?"

"Good, thanks, I got…" Harry tuned them out until he heard a rather derisive snort.

Luna and Hermione were staring each other down, Hermione looking flustered and Luna unusually present.

"My father is the editor of the Quibbler." She said, her voice more focused.

"Well-I...it's got some good, uh, interesting things in there-"

"I'll have that back now." Luna said coldly as Ron handed over the magazine he had probably borrowed.

The compartment slipped into an uneasy silence as Hermione buried herself in a book while Harry returned to his. Ginny began to mess with her bag while Ron challenged Neville to a game of chess. The tension eased when the trolley witch came and Hermione bought Luna a Cauldron Cake as an apology.

Thankfully, the rest of the train ride passed in peace and before they knew it, they had arrived at Hogwarts. When they disembarked and navigated the platform of the Hogsmeade train station, Harry looked around for Hagrid. He was not back from visiting the Giants apparently and instead the Grubby-Plank woman from last year was herding students. It was odd to watch her as she did not tower over the first years like Hagrid did.

He ignored the stares and gestures of the other students as he forced his way through the throngs of students to the carriages. When he reached an empty one, he circled around to the door and froze at what he saw. The carriages were no longer pulling themselves.

Instead, hooked up to the harness, was a-a leathery horse-like creature with a weird see-through skin. It's eyes were milky black and the whole thing was just creepy to look at. He glanced around and realized all of the carriages had these creatures harnessed to them, but nobody seemed to notice. He caught Hermione's, who had been watching him in concern, eye and said, "What are these things?"

She gave him a confused look, "What things?"

He felt his confusion raise along with some irritation, "Them!" He said pointing to the horses.

"There's nothing there, Harry." She told him confusion being overtaken by worry, "They are pulling themselves, like always."

"No there not! Can't you see them?" He insisted. He wasn't going crazy, all the Rogues said he was perfectly fine, Lily had said his mental health was perfect.

She walked up next to him, "Harry, what are you seeing?" She asked him.

He took her hand and guided it to the back of the creature and when he was sure she was touching it, he let go. Her face changed from worry to surprise and then wonder in the span of a few seconds.

"What does it look like?" She asked him. "I can feel it, but I can't see it."

She rubbed the spot for another moment before pulling back and leading him to the inside of the carriage where Luna, Neville, Ginny and Ron were waiting for them.

"What took so long?" Ron asked them when they sat down.

"They have discovered the Thestrals." Luna said dreamily, looking at Harry and Hermione.

"Those are Thestrals?" Harry asked dubiously. He had never heard of those before and he wasn't sure he could believe her but shrugged it off.

"They are like horses with skin instead of fur and skeletal, they can only be seen by those who have seen death. Oh Harry!" Hermione said, her expression one of everything clicking into place.

He winced at the reminder of Cedric but allowed himself to shake it off, it wasn't his fault, he'd been a victim as well. He spent this summer training to get better so he wouldn't be the victim again.

Neville tactfully changed the subject, "Do you know who the new DADA teacher is?" He asked them.

They all shook their heads, nobody had a clue. "Dumbledore's been really quiet about that…" Ginny said.

"Yeah, I don't think anybody knows." Harry agreed.

There had been a lot of speculation about it and many people wondered if he'd even gotten one or if he was simply teaching it himself. He supposed they were about to find out.

Going through the entrance hall, he could hear many exclamations of surprise from the Great Hall and Harry picked up his pace, wondering what was so shocking. Excited whispers made their way from the hall as people suddenly began to rush in. His friends followed behind him and when he got through the doors and began to scan around, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

He glanced around in confusion and slight disappointment. It took him a moment to realize people were pointing at the staff table. All of the teachers from last year were there as well as...the DADA teacher. The newcomer was the youngest staff member Harry had ever seen, she had straight dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, along with a rather pretty face. She seemed to have an aura of power and a friendly look on her face, complimenting her casual blue robes.

And she was very familiar. Next to him, Hermione gasped and Ron stopped dead. Harry felt his own feet freeze as his mouth dropped open in shock. There sat, in between Snape and Flitwick, Kate Ross.

AN::REVIEW!


	21. Chapter 21: Interference

Chapter 21: Interference

SEPTEMBER 1ST HOGWARTS WITH KATE

Kate allowed her eyes to flutter open after a solid hour of trying to go back to sleep. She had triple checked everything last night, grilled her colleagues on everything she would need for the year, she was prepared, but she was still nervous. Everything was set up and ready to go for tomorrow when class started. The classroom was fully decorated and equipped with bookshelves, dummies, cushioning charms, desks and a duelling platform against the back. The windows, which were all on one side, had tables full of dark arts sensors and the like for students to look at and below the tables was the extra equipment for them to learn to use.

Her large office had been spilt into the front and the back by a wall Dumbledore had let her put in. The front, which was accessible to the main castle, had her desk and two armchairs in front of it along with a bookshelf of her favorite, and legal, books. It also had a couch against one wall, a fireplace and several paintings. The back part contained her more dangerous, but still legal, books and toys as well as several different creatures they would be studying along with doors to her classroom and quarters.

Her quarters were fully ready with the furniture from her old flat in Dubai while Jamie used her stuff from Tokyo to fill the flat in London. Both sisters had lived in Britain full time for the last week. Kate had stayed in the castle, getting used to the lay of the land, and running around Hogsmeade and London, fending off the constant stream of reporters that seemed to follow her every move. Tabloids and poparazzi seemed to follow her and her sister like Harry followed the snitch.

She understood that they both had international celebrity status because they were the greatest dueler and keeper of all time, and sisters. Everyone seemed to think that would equal drama, even Kenna had to treat them like everyone else publically. But that didn't mean it wasn't annoying, anything she did was on the front page of a magazine or newspaper somewhere. Same with Jamie.

Well at least she didn't need to talk to her to know what she'd been up to.

She sat up and forced herself to leave her bed as she wanted to be at breakfast this morning and that meant she needed to get up and go.

Twenty minutes later, Kate Ross emerged from her rooms, hair in a ponytail, in a t-shirt and jean shorts, with black and white low top converse all stars, not willing to wear her nice robes all day. She knew she was by far the youngest member of the staff and the "weak link" (against students anyway) within the castle, even if outside she was Kate Ross. Which meant keeping her image clean and acting like a professor in front of others.

She walked into the hall with a bounce in her step, not bothering to hide the fact she was excited and then stopped dead at what she saw. In the middle of the hall, stood Albus and Minerva segueing with a short, squat woman dressed in a horrible pink cardigan. She was like 4'10 and had, from what she could hear, the most annoying voice ever heard.

"The Minister does not think you have a suitable defense teacher, Dumbledore! That is why I am here, I will be the DADA teacher this year since you clearly do not have one!"

"Madam Umbridge, I will tell you once again, I have hired a DADA teacher, I can introduce you when she arrives for breakfast." Albus said again.

Minerva's nostrils were flaring and her mouth was a thin line, she was pissed off. Kate mentally winced at the expression, Harry hadn't been kidding when he'd said it was scary. Albus looked perfectly calm, but Kate could tell by the way his aura was coiled that he was annoyed himself. She figured now was as good a time as any to make her presence known (the whole staff was there but not paying her any attention).

"Which she has just done." Kate added to Albus's comment.

Every eye turned to her and she forced herself to smile cheerfully. Ignoring the looks she was receiving, most were pity, hope or amusement, she strode forward, not sure whether she wanted to be recognized or not.

Fate seemed to have its own agenda in that regard, no sooner had she reached the group that the Umbridge women gasped, "Kate Ross!"

She gave a nod of acknowledgement, "Whoever you are." She greeted curtly, forcing a straight face.

She could see the amusement in Albus's eyes as they began to twinkle and Minerva, who she'd have expected to be disapproving, softened her entire posture and relaxed.

The toad like woman flushed slightly and then swelled, Kate wasn't sure if it was because she wanted to shoot her tongue out to catch a fly or if it was indignation. "I am Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the minister of magic and the new Hogwarts DADA teacher." She announced.

Kate didn't change her expression at all as she chirpily retorted. "I'm the new Defense teacher. Didn't Headmaster Dumbledore say that he had hired someone?"

Umbridge sputtered for a moment and Kate added, "Unless, of course, someone feels that I am unqualified?" She suggested, her voice dangerous at the end.

"I-No! The ministry, you are ah, more than qualified to teach Defence, you-your Kate Ross!" She exclaimed, like it solved everything. She collected herself. "Madame Ross, are you absolutely sure that you wish to be a teacher? The ministry understands that at your age, children tend to make rash decisions without thinking them through."

Kate didn't know who should be more offended, her or the teaching staff that had just been insulted. "I assure you, Madam Umbridge, that I have thought this through completely and I am well aware of what I am committing to."

Umbridge stared at her for a moment, face becoming hostile for a moment before returning to a forced pleasantness. "Very well, Ms. Ross, if you are sure, but you must be aware that certain factions of this school are being investigated by the Ministry of magic and by allowing yourself to be employed here, you are submitting yourself to the same scrutiny."

Kate shrugged, "Ok."

Umbridge turned an odd purple color as she glared at her and Kate simply went back to her cheerful smile.

"If that is all-?" Albus asked the ministry lackey.

She fixed a sickly sweet smile on her face and said in a false cheerful tone, "I do believe that is all for now. I'm sure someone will be in touch."

With that she turned and stormed away, of course, her short legs made it rather unimpressive, but the sentiment was still there if you looked. Silence followed for several moments after she had departed and Kate turned back to her bosses to gauge their reactions.

Albus looked rather resigned but not terribly upset with her, Minerva was glaring at the door until Albus cleared his voice and she turned. Her face changed into wry amusement as she regarded the younger woman with something akin to respect.

"Well, Kate, I dare say you have acquaintanced yourself with the ministry." Albus said, allowing a smile to pull over his face, "But I do think we would be foolish to think this will be the last such encounter." He warned seriously.

Kate nodded, "I know what I signed up for." She repeated.

He nodded in acknowledgement and turned to head back to the staff table, leaving her with Minerva.

"Professor Ross, I do hope you are good friends with President Bristol, I do not doubt that is where this will go." She said with a severe look. Cella and the American government were the only ones with the power to arrest her, as per the Dark Forces Defence League member contract with the ICW.

Kate grinned slightly, "We have met."

—

LATER THAT DAY-GREAT HALL

Kate straightened her Thunderbird house colored light blue-grey robes with white trimming as she listened to the Headmaster. She had chosen the robes as silent tribute to her house (and because they looked good).

Albus was going over the announcements that he would be making at dinner as well as briefing them, her mostly, on how the night would proceed. Soon, Hagrid and Minerva left to collect the students and the hall broke into conversation as they waited. She shifted, suddenly self aware.

Filius leaned in and said, "You know, for someone as famous as you, I would have thought you'd like to be under the spotlight."

She grimaced slightly, people did seem to assume that, despite her being introverted. "Not as much as one would think. I don't really like being in front of a lot of people, when I'm duelling it's easy to block out, but just sitting here, and then eating will be awkward."

"You do know that teaching involves standing in front of students and talking?" Filius ribbed in amusement.

"Yes, but I will be doing something, it won't be the whole school watching me eat dinner." She emphasized, not feeling any need to act older than she was. In Hogwarts, as a teacher, she was going to be herself because she always liked teachers who didn't act like a know it all authority king or whatever.

"You shall manage if you simply persevere." He encouraged, falsely consoling.

She stuck her tongue out at him like a four year old, but the grin on her face took away from the effect. And the fact she was 22.

Eventually, voices began to sound outside the doors and the staff quieted as the first students began to filter in. To Kate it looked like a loud mass of black had entered that seemed to all eventually lock eyes on her. Then the whispers started as the hall quieted while people processed what they were seeing before breaking into loud exclamations. She could hear her name buzzing through the mass from her place at the table and fought the part of her that was self conscious. Instead she revelled in the looks she was getting, allowing her inner prankster to enjoy the disturbance her presence caused which in turn let her relax.

Then Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the hall.

The expression on Hermione's face was first shock and then delight as a large smile seemed to brighten her whole person. Ron's reaction was also one of complete surprise and then an excited grin broke out on his face as well, he seemed about to call out to her before Hermione elbowed him. She had been around them enough to know he was being reminded that they did not officially know each other, in fact they'd never met.

Harry's reaction was by far the best, she could only say she wished she had a camera as she beamed at him. He didn't seem to register her for a moment as he looked around before locking onto her. His face slowly changed from curious to stunned. His mouth dropped open and his eyes went about as wide as she'd ever seen. He froze in the doorway and simply gaped at her. She winked at him.

Ron and Hermione dragged him over to a table and he seemed to snap out of it as he sat down and grinned like a loon. Kate allowed a smirk to plant itself on her face as many students were now seated and openly staring and pointing as they talked about her. She heard her name around the hall and knew that there were probably a thousand different theories about what she was doing there, what kind of teacher she'd be, and how Albus had gotten her.

After a few moments, Minerva came in leading a new group of students, first years, that needed to be sorted. Kate was curious about this part, they had told her what happens but like most things, hearing about it and seeing it were very different things. She managed to control her reaction when the hat did indeed spring to life and begin to sing. The song was about the four founders and seemed to warn the students to unite or risk destroying the school. Apparently this wasn't normal because all of the students broke in whispers when the song ended and the teachers around her exchanged nervous glances. It did not take her long to notice the looks she was being shot. The song had apparently made them suspicious of her. Well, that was amusing.

And they were looking between her and Harry too. The irony! Their actions wouldn't help much she supposed, but Kate Ross had never cared much for rules and others' opinions. The rest of the sorting consisted of Minerva calling the names of the new students and Kate tried to memorize as many as possible.

Dinner was a massive (and pretty good) feast. Dumbledore's start of term speech was rather amusing as he seemed to be simply making it up as he went. When he introduced her, Kate smiled and waved at the hall as the whole room went into silence before exploding with noise. She could see students standing and craning their necks to get a good look at her and she could not help but laugh internally at them. They were going to be her students, they would get plenty of her.

LATER THAT NIGHT WITH HARRY

Harry couldn't keep the smile off his face as he made his way out of the hall, Kate was going to teach DADA! Not even the whispering, pointing and lack of Ron and Hermione could shake his mood. He held his head high as he walked towards Gryffindor Tower, wondering if he could visit her tonight.

He claimed an armchair in one corner of the common room to watch as Hermione and Ron, but mostly Hermione, briefed the first years on what they'd need to know about being in the house of the brave. He complemplated using the map to figure out where Kate's quarters were, assuming she was in them, but before he could get very far, a note appeared in lap, telling him everything he needed to know.

_My office is on the fourth floor, the same set of rooms Professor Lupin used, I believe._

Harry grinned at that and glanced around. Ron and Hermione had made their way over to him and settled across from him. "Kate's invited me for a visit tonight."

"Now!?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Well not right now, but after curfew…" Harry trailed off, acutely aware that Hermione would most likely disapprove.

"She's asking you to break the rules, as a professor?" Hermione asked indignantly.

Ron looked delighted as he reached this conclusion. "Kate's gonna be a brilliant teacher!"

"Ronald, just because she is asking Harry to break the rules she is supposed to be enforcing, doesn't make her a great teacher!" Hermione hissed in annoyance.

Harry gave her an indignant look and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure she is going to be good, she was this summer, but that doesn't mean this is a good idea!" She grumbled, she wasn't that upset, but it was more the moral of the matter.

"I'm going now." Harry huffed and went up to his dorm to retrieve his cloak. He pointedly ignored the stares of his housemates as he marched but was stopped short when he found Dean and Seamus whispering quietly to each other in the dorm.

He gave them both a defensive look when they looked up, not saying another word to each other.

"Hello, Dean, Seamus." He said in what he hoped was a friendly tone.

"Hey Harry." Dean said, "How was your summer?"

"It was good, I got to stay with some old friends." Harry told him, not quite ready to relax. "What about you?"

"Mine was fine, but Seamus…" He trailed off and gave his best friend an uncertain look.

Seamus had an odd expression on his face. "Me Mam didn't want me to come back you know."

Harry shifted slightly, "Why not?" He asked, knowing the answer.

"Because of you, I suppose." He said, "They've been saying a lot of things about you Harry, and Dumbledore."

"I know." He said curtly, now was not the time to lose his temper, he couldn't visit Kate if he got a detention for hexing someone.

"Well?" Seamus demanded.

"Well what? Your Mom can believe what she wants, it doesn't mean she's right, or the prophet is. Does what they are saying really line up with how I've been since you've known me?" He retorted evenly.

Seamus gaped at him and even Dean blinked a little. He turned away from them and went to his trunk. He carefully stuffed his cloak out of sight, acutely aware of both the silence and the eyes on his back.

"Later." He called to them as he headed to the door.

For a moment he thought they wouldn't respond but then he heard two voices call out "Later!" to his back.

He shut the door behind him and glanced around to ensure that the hall was empty before slipping his cloak over his head and making his way to the common room.

It was not very hard for Harry, a now five year veteran, to get to the Defence corridor undetected and knock on the door. It opened instantly and he stepped in.

Seated on a couch with her feet propped up on a wooden coffee table was Hogwarts newest Professor, Kate Ross. And she was smirking at him with the distinct glint of a prankster watching the victim of a successful prank. He did not have to think hard to figure out what caused the look to appear.

"Evening Mr. Potter." She said smugly. Too smugly, in his opinion.

He groaned dramatically, "Just what every guy wants, his older sister for a professor!"

She laughed at him and he couldn't fight the grin that split into his face.

"Well, you are the one who decided to nearly die every year, until I was forced to intervene." She teased. "Now sit down!" She waved her hand towards the chair to the right of the couch.

He cheerfully flopped into the seat and asked, "Why are you here though? For real."

She sighed, "I promised you I'd protect you and I'd be there when you needed me...no matter what, and I will not break it, you need me right now, even if you don't recognize it yourself, and I am here."

Harry blinked at her for a second and then swallowed thickly, "Thank you." He said sincerely.

She smiled softly at him, "We're family, Harry, it's what we do."

He beamed at her even as more questions burst forth in his mind.

"How long have you been planning this? Is this where you've been? Why d'you think I need help?" He blurted out.

Kate patted his shoulder to slow his stream of questions as she laughed at his face. He glared at her and crossed his arms with a "humph".

"I think that you need someone to protect you from the things you shouldn't have to deal with, regardless of whether you could or not. But yes, we have had this planned all summer, and Jamie and I have already moved to London. I also just wanted to see what Hogwarts was like." She confessed.

He snorted. "That sounds like you."

She blushed slightly and then shrugged, "I'm 22 and retired, I'll never have to work a day in my life and neither will you, Jamie, or any kids I have, why not do what I want?"

Harry grinned, "You've had it made for a decade though, so…"

"Yeah, and now you are finally old enough that I don't feel like I'm forcing you to pull pranks with me." Kate retorted with a smirk.

Harry stared at her, "You-you want to pull pranks!? You got a job as a Hogwarts Professor to pull pranks!?"

"Well...in a way that's all anything we've done this past summer was, a huge prank on the Order."

She had a point. Not that he'd ever tell her that. "Seriously?" He demanded instead, pretending to be wholly unimpressed.

She gave him a look that clearly stated she knew exactly how he actually felt. "That's your godfather." She retorted.

Harry found himself fighting a snort, instead he asked, "Why did you call me here?"

She suddenly fell serious, "We need to discuss how we are going to act around each other."

He frowned but nodded, "I would love to act like brother and sister, but we can't, can we?"

Kate shook her head grimly, "No, it's better that we do not appear to have met before. People are more likely to underestimate both of us this way, and we can move more freely. Also, it would be best if you pretend that you got no training in anything this summer."

He nodded in acceptance, if dislike of the situation.

She had more to say, however, "The ministry is going to try to interfere with Hogwarts as best it can, so do not be surprised if Aurors or a woman named Dolores Umbridge suddenly starts to harass you. I will do my best to protect you, but for the sake of our covers, there is only so much I can do."

Harry looked at her, "You're going to be able to stop yourself from blowing up at Malfoy, Snape and the ministry if they give me a hard time?"

Kate looked pained, "I will try to check myself, but I'll help you subtly if I can."

Harry gave her a dubious look, "Like with Dudley? Or my aunt and uncle? Or the kids who bullied me in primary school?"

She blushed slightly, "They deserved it, and I will exact my revenge on the appropriate people here as well, do not worry."

"That is why I worry." He pointed out.

"Cheeky." She chided jokingly, "I'll look for the Horcrux we think is here while you focus on learning as much as you can. OWLs are coming up, as is a war."

"I will, I promise." He said.

"Good, and as soon as I can, I will arrange some private lessons for us to continue your dueling practice." Kate promised in return.

Harry beamed.

A/N:: Sorry this is late! Though honestly I didn't even want to post this week (or last week I suppose) because I am more behind then I am comfortable with...but here it is anyway... Please REVIEW!


	22. Chapter 22: The First Day

Chapter 22: The First Day

THE NEXT MORNING AT HOGWARTS

Harry took one look at his schedule for the day and resisted the urge to groan. Beside him, Ron had no such qualms and complained quite loudly about the horror that was their Monday class schedule.

History of Magic followed by Potions with the Slytherins, then Divination straight after lunch. Torture, plain and simple, their only saving grace was double DADA to end the day, which would undoubtedly be interesting with their new Professor. If they survived that long.

History of Magic, the most boring subject to ever grace the classroom of a school, was spent playing hangman with Ron while Hermione shot them dirty looks. As they left the room, she threatened to not let them touch her notes and let them fail their OWLs. Harry responded by reminding her that he could ask his sisters, whom she got to spend half the summer with, thanks to him. She glared at him whilst Ron sniggered.

She probably would have given them both the cold shoulder had they not spent their break in the common room, witnessing Fred and George advertising their need for test subjects with the First Years.

"We need to talk to them, Ron! They can't do this!" Hermione insisted.

"What?" Ron looked alarmed at the thought.

"We're prefects, Ron, we have to talk to them." She repeated, jamming her finger in the direction of the notice board.

Harry noticed a brightly colored notice offering Galleons for volunteers to test the Weasley Twins' new prank products. He couldn't help but wonder what the Rogues would think of them. Who was he kidding? They'd love it.

"Hermione, we're Rogues, we're supposed to be doing this kind of thing ourselves." Harry pointed out.

She spun to glare at him, and he met her gaze unflinchingly. She opened and closed her mouth several times as if trying to figure out whether she should argue or not, but they all knew he was right.

"...Fine." She conceded and Ron look immensely relieved.

"Let's talk about an actual problem." Ron said quickly, "What d'you think Snape is gonna make us do today?"

THAT AFTERNOON IN DADA

The fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins filed into the DADA classroom on the third floor with very different expectations but an overall buzz of excitement. The new professor's reputation was at war with her class's reputation in shaping expectations. Harry, Ron, and Hermione on the other hand, were quite sure, as they walked in, that Kate would do brilliantly.

The room was empty of a teacher when Harry entered and, for the first time in his life, voluntarily took a seat in the front, so he could get a good view of his eldest sister. Ron and Hermione settled on either side of him giving the door to the office a look of anticipation. The rest of the class was talking quietly amongst themselves, speculating on where their Professor was.

The room was a large rectangle with one long wall being windows from waist height to near the ceiling with book shelves covering the bottom half of the wall, while the opposite wall was covered in floor to ceiling length mirrors. Pushed up against the mirrors were practice dummies, wall padding, and various artifacts and trinkets in open display cases periodically placed on the wall. The back wall was covered in posters of spells, wand movement, dueling tips, and other defense information as well as a waist high rack of about 30 wooden swords. The front wall had a two chalkboards above several cabinets and a staircase leading to an upper landing where a door to the teacher's office was, all behind a desk with several small stacks of paper on top.

The bell rang just as Professor Ross walked in the door from the hall, shutting it behind her with no special flair. Harry tracked her progress to the front of the desk, where she perched on it and surveyed her class, which had fallen silent upon her entry.

The first words out of her mouth made the whole class groan. "I'm going to give you guys a short quiz to assess your DADA knowledge before we start today. I do not expect any of you to get them all right, you shouldn't be able to because I put the same questions for every year, so do your best and if you don't know simply write that, this will not be put in the grade book."

With that she directed everyone to put their stuff away and take out a quill. When Harry read the questions on the quiz, there were 20 total, he looked at his sister wide eyed, they were random to say the least.

_1\. What was something Herpo the Foul invented?_

_2\. Write the incantation for the most powerful shield spell in existence._

_3\. Name all three unforgivables and their incantations._

_4\. What is a class XXXX creature? Give an example and the reasons it qualifies as such._

_5\. What is the difference between a hex, jinx, curse, and dark spell?_

_6\. Name as many dark lords as you can._

_7\. What is the incantation for the stunning and disarming spells?_

_8\. How can transfiguration be used in combat?_

_9\. How is a dementor repulsed?_

And so on. Some of these questions were easy, others Harry had never even heard of, but he was sure he fared better than most of his classmates who appeared to be staring blankly at the parchment. Several of the questions had been covered in other classes and judging by how vigorously Hermione was writing, there may be one surprise Outstanding for Professor Ross. All in all, Professor Ross gave them half an hour of their nearly 3 hour period. After the quiz was over, Kate began for real.

She wore an easygoing smile that never failed to put him at ease as she began, "Now that that is done, hello everyone! As you may or may not know, my name is Kate Ross, and I will be your DADA Professor this year."

You could hear a quill drop in the room and Harry wasn't sure whether Kate had the ability to hold silence without trying or if everyone was simply too starstruck to speak.

She continued and Harry was impressed with how relaxed she appeared, "I don't know how you normally go about class here, but at Ilvermorny, normally new teachers gave a bit of background on themselves and field some questions, which we can do now. Before we do that though, I am an American through and through, which means I will call you by your first name, this is your only warning, if you don't like it, we can talk after class. Now for the questions, yes I am a former professional dueler, I do have a mastery in curebreaking from Drake Herr, and yes Jamie Ross, the famous keeper, is my younger sister. Also remember that I will be here to answer questions all year, so do not be afraid to seek me out for any reason this year, really, I dare say I'm closer to all of you age wise, than any of my colleagues. Now, name and questions?"

This was the que for an explosion of noise, to which Ka-Professor Ross, Harry scolded himself, reminded them to raise their hands.

The first person she called on was Parvati Patil, "Parvati Patil, Professor, what house were you in at Ilvermorny and which house would you be in here?"

"Parvati, good question, I was a Thunderbird, which values the soul, and I would probably be a Slytherin or Hufflepuff."

Whispers broke out across the room and the Slytherins looked particularly smug. Professor Ross ignored them and went to the next question.

"Dean Thomas, why did you quit dueling?"

"Dean, huh? I quit because I was no longer being challenged and it was, quite frankly, not fair to the other duellers."

"Theodore Nott, are you going to teach us how to duel?"

"Theodore? Do you have a nickname you want me to use?" She asked, "Theo, ok, and yes, I do plan on covering some dueling, but I am going to hear this particular class towards OWLs. If I am your teacher next year, we will definitely be doing a lot of dueling for NEWTs."

"Hermione Granger, Professor, do you plan on staying for more than a year?"

"Hermione, Greek?" Hermione nodded mutely, pretending to have never met Kate before, "I am not sure, currently, I suppose it just depends."

"Seamus Finnigan, ma'am. Do you play Quidditch like your sister?"

"I did when I was in school, I was a chaser." Professor Ross rattled off.

"Pansy Parkinson, are you really 22?"

"I am 22, Pansy, but I will be 23 in November."

"Draco Malfoy, is it true that Samhain is the third dark lord you have defeated?"

"Draco, eh? Yes, I have defeated multiple dark lords."

Harry decided it was about time he got in this, for appearances, if nothing else. "Harry Potter, where you really a prankster at school?"

Professor Ross got an unholy grin on her face, "Yes, indeed I was one of the worst, or best in my opinion, pranksters in Ilvermorny history. Which reminds me, we should go over some classroom policies."

Several students exchanged incredulous looks and Ross' grin widened.

"It's nothing too bad, just a few things, I never liked teachers with sticks up their you know what." A ripple of laughter made its way across the room at the wisecrack. "So rule 1, if you prank me, I will prank you, rule 2 is about being tardy, if you are, we will play rock, paper, scissors, if I win it's ten points, if you win, you're off the hook. Rule 3, I respect you, you respect me. 4, if you don't know the answer to a question, give a funny answer and I laugh, I'll give you half credit, tests included. Rule 5 is on late work, if you have a good excuse I may give you extra time, and by good, I mean legit or so ridiculous it's funny. I like to laugh. Rule 6, I am 22 and graduated school recently enough to remember what it feels like to be your age and I understand that some things are not what you want to talk about with a 70 year old woman or some dude, so if you ever need to talk, feel free to come find me. Also I live here, so I am always free to give tutoring or homework help. Rule 7 is the most important." Professor Ross looked very serious.

"I do not tolerate bullying or rudeness between students, House rivalry or not. If you have a problem with someone here, leave it outside the classroom, what we will do here can be dangerous and I won't have anyone here injured for petty pissing contests and sending others to the hospital wing. The only thing worse you can do is use what I teach you to hurt someone else in this school simply because you disagreed or felt like harassing them. Nobody is exempt from this rule, and if you break it, I will not take points of give you a detention. You and I will stand in front of the Great Hall at dinner and duel until someone loses, and it won't be me." She looked dead serious and met every eye in the room. Several students swallowed loudly as her stern eye reached them.

She suddenly changed back to cheerful after a beat of silence. She clapped her hands together, "But right now we have several other small tests for you all to do. Everyone grab their wands and stand up!"

She said springing up herself and grabbing her wand from the desk behind her. When everyone was standing she waved her wand and all the desks and backpacks disappeared only to reappear with the desks stuck to the roof and the backpacks on top of the bookshelves by the windows. In their place, covering the whole floor was padded mats. Everyone looked at their Professor in parts awe, curiosity, and excitement.

"Everyone find their own space in the room, at least an arms span away from your neighbors, girls up front, boys in the back." Professor Ross ordered. Students shuffled around to comply but they were in short order ready.

"You are going to want to stretch for what we are going to do next, so go ahead and do that now, if you don't know any stretches, just copy me." She told them before proceeding slide her feet apart and settling her weight on one side and then the other.

The class was split pretty evenly between students who were clearly following the professor and those who did not need to. After a few minutes they stopped and Professor Ross told them to do ten jumping jacks while she watched them. The purebloods and those who did not grow up around muggles gave her blank looks while those who did grow up with muggles immediately complied. She demonstrated for the purebloods, ritual that was repeated for sit ups.

By now many students were wondering what exactly her plans were, the muggle raised we're getting PE flashbacks, while the purebloods were feeling quite ridiculous do so many weird movements.

"Did anyone get workout clothes?" Professor Ross asked and the din of noise stopped.

Most of the students raised their hands and she smiled, "Good, if you brought them go ahead and grab them and go to the bathroom to change. If you didn't, I'd bring them from now on and if you didn't buy them, we'll talk."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and most of the Gryffindors, went to change while only a few Slytherins, Greengrass, Davis, Malfoy, Zabini, and Nott, got clothes from their bags. By the time Harry returned, the remaining students were wearing various muggle style workout clothes that caused all of the Slytherins to mutter in annoyance. The Gryffindors, bar Neville and Lavender, and Professor Ross were also wearing muggle workout clothes consisting of running (girls) or gym (boys) shorts and light T-shirts. Those wearing wizard workout clothes looked rather peculiar, to Harry, with their shorts and sleeveless robes. One thing common across the board, was the tied up hair of every female.

"Alright!" Ross exclaimed cheerfully. "Grab your wands and follow me! We are going to jog outside and have a bit of a practical lesson where there is more space for flying spells and multiple duels."

Lavender, Parvati, and Parkinson all looked horrified. Sensing this, Professor Ross added, "Don't forget that sweating is great for your figure!" This seemed to appease them a bit and Kate looked highly amused.

The jog itself felt long to everyone not Professor Ross and several times people had to walk and Professor Ross would slow down each time and give everyone a slight reprieve pace wise until the straggler could catch up. She seemed perfectly happy and infinitely patient through it all, despite Malfoy's complaints about "muggle foolishness". Her response that "every powerful wizard is in good shape" shut him up, however.

Once they got down to the grounds, Professor Ross allows them to pick a partner and begin to do some mock spell exchanges using Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Petrificus Totalus, and Protego only. Harry was surprised by how many of his classmates struggled with these four spells, but Professor Ross did not look surprised at all.

They finished the last part of class getting to do a dueling circuit where the outer ring would move one to the left every five minutes, which was how long they had to have an all out duel, as long as the spells were "within reason". Harry started partnered with Ron, then Dean, then Daphne Greengrass, followed by Blaise Zabini, and lastly Lavender Brown and could honestly he'd had one of the most interesting DADA classes ever. They actually did something and got to practice things and by the chatter as everyone headed up to the classroom to get their backpacks, he wasn't the only one. Up ahead, several Slytherins had Professor Ross's attention completely taken which meant that she had clearly won the popularity battle across the board.

LATER THAT WEEK

The first week of school passed relatively peacefully. It was not as strange as Harry wished for whispers and stares to follow him around the school, but at least Kate's presence seemed to distract people from the smear campaign. This in turn allowed him to keep his temper in check and be as polite and sane as possible. This paid dividends, as everyone seemed to have predicted at some point.

Several students had informed him of their support of him and told him that they believed him and Dumbledore. Even Seamus, by Wednesday, had admitted that he reckoned Harry was telling the truth. Malfoy, of course, was insufferable as always, except in DADA where he'd given up on trying to taunt Harry after the first day, where Professor Ross had asked him if he was part of a fan club that read all the press Harry received. Somehow, Malfoy hadn't taken the embarrassment as personally as possible, because he still seemed to like the DADA teacher. Unfortunately, while Kate hadn't talked too much about OWLs and not given any homework, the other professors were not so kind. The fifth years had a mountain of homework and a week's worth of lectures on the importance of OWLs for their future. The Trio, even Ron, did not complain as much as normal (not that Hermione ever complained) because Kate had beaten the importance of doing well into school into their heads over the summer. It also helped that Harry had gotten a leg up in most classes from lessons with the Rogues.

Friday was Keeper tryouts for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Harry had only just managed to ask Kate to move the dueling lessons she had informed him they would be having from that time, after Angelina threatened to replace him too, even though she didn't know what he would be doing.

"You know what?" Harry said to Ron and Hermione as they entered the Great Hall after seeing the new captain. "I think we'd better check with Puddlemere United whether Oliver Wood's been killed during a training session, because she seems to be channeling his spirit."

"What d'you reckon are the odds of Ross letting you off on Friday?" said Ron, as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Decent, I think," said Harry glumly, tipping lamb chops onto his plate and starting to eat. "But I don't really want to skip, dueling with her is fun. I dunno. . . ." He swallowed a mouthful of potato and added, "I hope Angelina doesn't keep us too long this evening. You realize we've got to write three essays, practice Vanishing Spells for McGonagall, work out a countercharm for Flitwick, finish the bowtruckle drawing, and start that stupid dream diary for Trelawney?"

Ron moaned and for some reason glanced up at the ceiling. "And it looks like it's going to rain."

"What's that got to do with our homework?" said Hermione, her eyebrows raised.

"Nothing," said Ron at once, his ears reddening. (Rowling OotP 264)

Ron had been acting strange all week and disappearing while Harry and Hermione had been doing homework. He found out why, two hours later.

AN: REVIEW! Seriously though, I love reviews.


	23. Chapter 23: Letters

Chapter 23: Letters

_**SEPTEMBER 5TH WITH DRAKE SOMEWHERE IN SOUTH AMERICA**_

"There is no point in running, you're completely covered." A tall figure spoke, not distinguishable from the shadows behind him.

Another figure, cloaked and in the dim light that got through the thick wooden canopy froze, but did not turn.

"Who are you?" The cloaked figure rasped.

"That is not important." Drake answered. "You have information I need." He clutched a letter in his pocket he had yet to open.

"You cannot force me to give up my secrets!" The figure sounded alarmed anyway.

"I do not intend to, unless you force _me._ I simply want to talk." Drake tried to sound reassuring.

"Talk?" The figure turned finally. "What about?"

"Nothing too intense." Drake promised.

There was silence for a moment. "Come." The cloaked figure said at last. He beckoned for Drake to follow and then turned and began to weave his way through the trees. He led him to a rather large tree put his hand on the bark. "Grakuah!" He rasped.

Slowly, the bark began to turn and unwind until it revealed a small opening. He ducked inside. Drake followed. He found himself in a small barren and wooden room with a table and two chairs in the middle, and nothing else. They sat and after a moment, the cloaked figure spoke again. "Want to read me the letter?"

"Not particularly." He slid it across the table.

_Drake,_

_Hogwarts is interesting to say the least. I gave the students a quiz on the first day and the results were atrocious. At the staff meeting, I fear I may have gotten on several teachers' nerves when I explained just how behind Hogwarts was. I am working on turning as many students as possible away from the Death Eaters and even the ministry. Speaking of Death Eaters, I am working on making Snape lighten up. I also suspect the ministry will begin to try interfering soon, especially once word gets out of my lessons, but I have also managed to locate the curse on my position and will try to break it sometime in the coming weeks, the caster was powerful, but not more so than I. Besides putting in extra work with all the students, I managed to talk Hermione out of continuing SPEW and will start giving Harry lessons again next week. He agreed to start this Friday, but I know he has forgotten Quidditch. I, on the other hand, have managed to locate the room and am in the process of combing through it, discreetly, of course. I would be grateful if you would begin research on Harry. _

_Kate_

_PS: There is a set of twins in my 7th year Gryffindor class that reminds me of myself and Jamie in a way. They particularly love my rules, and tried to prank me on the second day, while unsuccessful, they did get a wonderful lion mane each for the rest of the week. I thought that Albus or Minerva would get upset, but they both seemed more amused than anything._

"Rather damning in certain circles." The man said. "But you would not have brought it, if I was going to remember this conversation." The cloaked man observed. "What did you want Master Herr?"

Drake did not give away anything about his successful identification or the letter, even if the man was right. He leaned back in his seat. "What do you know about living Horcruxes?"

_**GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM FRIDAY NIGHT**_

A roar of sound greeted Harry. Ron came running toward him, beaming all over his face and sloping butterbeer down his front from the goblet he was clutching.

"Harry, I did it, I'm in, I'm Keeper!" He exclaimed in excitement.

"I know!" Harry enthused, "I saw! You were brilliant!"

"Thanks mate!" Ron clapped him on the back and led him towards the drinks.

Hermione sat down next to them. "It really was a waste of time for you Harry, Angelina should have just let you go with Professor Ross." She tutted.

It was true, Harry had only warmed up with the prospects before hovering above with Angelina while the other chasers and Fred and George played and targeted each keeper to test their ability to block shots and avoid bludgers.

"Yeah, but it was great to see you mate!" Harry told Ron, who beamed even brighter at him.

"Come here, Ron, and see if Oliver's old robes fit you," called Katie Bell. "We can take off his name and put yours on instead. . . ."

As Ron moved away, Angelina came striding up to Harry. "Sorry I was a bit short with you earlier, Potter," she said abruptly. "It's stressful, this managing lark, you know, I'm starting to think I was a bit hard on Wood sometimes." She was watching Ron over the rim of her goblet with a slight frown on her face.

"Look, I know he's your best mate, but he's not fabulous," she said bluntly. "I think he's got potential though and he did some moves I've only seen pros pull off. I suppose it's because he comes from a family of good Quidditch players. I'm banking on his tricks being better than what anyone else has seen, to be honest. Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper both flew better this evening, even if they didn't have the stunts, but Hooper's a real whiner, he's always moaning about something or other, and Vicky's involved in all sorts of societies, she admitted herself that if training clashed with her Charms Club she'd put Charms first. Anyway, we're having a practice session at two o'clock tomorrow, so just make sure you're there. And do me a favor and help Ron with confidence as much as you can, okay?"

He nodded and Angelina strolled back to Alicia Spinnet.

"I think I'll write and tell Sirius about this week, I know he's been wondering if we are still close-"

"Harry, be careful what you put in a letter!" said Hermione, looking alarmed. "Remember, Drake told us to be careful what we put in writing! We just can't guarantee owls aren't being intercepted anymore!"

"All right, all right, I won't tell him too much, then!" said Harry irritably. He got to his feet. "I'm going to bed. Tell Ron for me, will you?"

"Oh no," said Hermione, looking relieved, "if you're going that means I can go without being rude too, I'm absolutely exhausted and I want to finish my Ancient Runes essay tomorrow." He watched her get up and go.

And he traipsed off to the boys' stairs, leaving Ron to his party behind him. (Rowling OotP 276/78)

_**THE NEXT MORNING**_

Harry was the first person awake in his dorm that morning. He quietly, but quickly, dressed and made his way downstairs to compose his letter.

He tried not to give away anything important, but instead make Kate sound good and make up excuses for his actions in case anyone was watching him. He also wanted to get the Order to trust Kate as well as get more information himself. He hoped Sirius was in good spirits, being alone at Grimmauld place, which was miserable to Harry who had only spent a day there.

_Snuffles,_

_Hope your okay. The first week has been pretty good. Ross is great and nobody really cares about the Prophet articles because she's been all anyone talks about. I wish we had more DADA every week, we only have one double period on Monday. It was great though, we got straight into dueling and she even managed to make Malfoy shut up! I am going to have extra lessons with her because I don't think I know enough to do good on OWLs after Quirrell, Lockhart, and the Tournament last year. We start this Friday. How is everything over there? Are you holding up alright? How's the rest of the club? Ron made the keeper on Gryffindor here and Fred and George are really annoying Hermione with their joke shop products. Please write back soon._

_Best,_

_Harry_

He sealed the letter and glanced around, it must have taken him longer than he'd thought to write the letter because the sun was already lighting the room up. He stood and stretched, yawning. He made his way to the portrait hole and on his way down saw Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor House Ghost.

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you." He warned, "You are going to the owlery, right?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, what's wrong with this way?"

"Peeves." Nick said bluntly, "He said he was planning on setting a prank up down there. I'm off to find the Bloody Baron, he should be able to stop him…."

"Ah, thanks Nick, I'll go this way then." Harry said, gesturing to a different hall.

Nick nodded and continued to float down the hall, Harry watched him for a moment before changing routes to avoid the poltergeist.

As he walked, he lost himself in thought. He wondered what Voldemort was up to right now, what Fudge was planning for Hogwarts, how Sirius was, and what the other Rogues were doing at this moment. Probably about to go to bed, with the time change. But then again, Jake, Jamie and Tiffany were all here, and he wouldn't put it past them for some of the others to be in Britain too. Kate would know as she was probably responsible for all of this anyway.

This dominated his thoughts until Kate herself blew by him, coming from Merlin knows where. What was strange was that she did not even seem to register his presence as she trotted by, a piece of parchment in one hand and a little brown sack in the other. He stared at her for a moment before calling out to her, "Professor! Professor Ross!" He called.

She skidded to a halt and looked back at him, "Hmm?" She asked distractedly.

"What's-?" He gestured to the bag and she followed his gaze.

"Oh, nothing." She told him dismissively, "Don't worry about it, later…" She turned on heel and rushed away.

Harry frowned, in parts affronted at being blown off and curious about what had his sister so distracted. He decided he could get his answers later and continued on to the Owlery. When he got there, he saw someone else was already there.

"Cho?" He called out.

She turned to face him, "Hi, Harry." She smiled.

Harry grappled for something to say. "What're you doing here?" He asked her at last, wincing at how stupid he must sound.

"Sending a letter home." She explained, seemingly ignoring how dumb his question was, "Its my mum's birthday today, but I only just remembered."

"Ah, Yeah, that's cool." He floundered, "I'm-er-sending a letter too...to my friend." He explained, his face crimson as he wondered where his social skills had gone.

He looked up for Hedwig. "Come here, girl, I've got a letter for you." He called as casually as he could manage. Hedwig fluttered down to him and he handed her the letter. "It's for Snuffles." He told her and her amber eyes stared at him intently. He petted her head as he carried her over to the window. "Safe flight then." He called as she took off.

"She's very pretty." Cho said and Harry turned back to her, having briefly forgotten she was there.

"Yeah...I mean thanks-she's very pretty, Yeah." Harry stuttered, kicking himself, why was he so nervous?

Cho giggles and Harry felt his cheeks heat up. "Well-er, I had better go...homework and stuff, OWLs and all that." He said quickly, beginning to back towards the door.

Cho nodded, "I understand." She smiled, "See you around Harry."

"Yeah, see you." He muttered, giving her a small wave before he began to walk down the stairs, shaking his head and cursing himself. "Stupid!"

_**LATER THAT DAY AT BREAKFAST**_

"Where'd you go this morning?" Ron asked him casually.

"Sent a letter to Snuffles." Harry shrugged, he elaborated when he saw Hermione open her mouth to scold him, no doubt, "Don't worry, it was coded."

She nodded approvingly, "Good. We better get a head start on our homework this weekend if we want to get it done."

Ron gave her an unenthusiastic look, "Listen, we do need to get our work done-but I was hoping Harry-could we go fly around this morning and warm up before practice?"

Harry felt guilty because he had already decided he was going to track down Kate this morning. "Er-sorry mate, I was gonna go see Ka… Professor Ross, I ran into her this morning and she was acting funny."

"Oh." Ron said in disappointment, "Sure, I suppose that's ok."

Hermione was much more approving, "Good on you to get some help with your work and spend time with her."

Harry gave her a smile, "Yeah, it's nice to have her around this year. Plus, Ron, you've got keeper practice from my other sister, Gryffindor's got nothing on her, I promise, you probably don't even _need _to go down early."

Ron sat straighter, "You know, I reckon your right. Maybe I should do some homework this morning-no need to sweat training, it's just practice."

"That's the attitude!" Harry said encouragingly.

Hermione stayed quiet through the pep talk. "Well, we should get going then, I think I'll visit Professor Ross while you are at practice."

"Ok." Harry shrugged, "Ron?"

"You're both mad, she didn't even assign homework." He snorted.

"Yes but she can help with other stuff." Hermione retorted, "And I'm closer to her than any of the other professors."

Harry and Ron both stared at her in disbelief. "McGonagall?" Ron asked. "Flitwick? Vector? Babbage? _Pince?_"

"Hagrid?" Harry added.

She blushed, "Well I haven't lived with any of them have I?" She hesitated for a moment, "And plus she was helpful this summer with other things, besides school as well."

"Like what?" Ron demanded tactlessly.

"Girl things!" Hermione huffed.

"I suppose…" Ron muttered darkly, "Whatever _girl things _are supposed to be."

Hermione gave him an annoyed look, while understanding dawned on Harry. He remembered when he was little and Kate and Jamie were around 14 when they started to have weird moments that Drake and dad had dubbed "girl things". The other girls had too, and Jake had confided that it was a multitude of things from makeup to hair to periods-whatever those were. But they always seemed to clamp together for things like that so he supposed it made sense that Hermione would have bonded with Kate over those things. Though neither liked makeup...girls really made no sense at all.

"Ron shut up." Harry ordered, "I know what she's talking about."

Ron founded on him, "What?" He demanded.

"Ask your mum or Ginny." Harry shrugged, "They can explain it better."

Hermione snorted and shook her head, "I'm going back to the common room to get my work, then I'll be in the library if you need me."

Harry nodded, "I'll come with, but I'm gonna go visit Professor Ross instead of the library." He told Ron.

"Fine, _I'm_ going to talk to Ginny." He said, a tad coolly.

Hermione rolled her eyes and she and Harry left Ron to get a no doubt thorough hexing from his sister. "Don't say we didn't warn you…" she called.

Once they got to Gryffindor Tower, they both grabbed their bags and went off in separate directions, one towards the library and another towards the defense corridor.

When he reached Kate's office, he did not hesitate to knock and received a quick invitation to enter.

"Hey." He said without prompting as he threw himself into an armchair. "What was that all about this morning?"

Kate grinned at him, looking tired but happy. "I found the Diadem in the Lost and Found." She confessed.

"Really!?" Harry exclaimed, ignoring the Lost and Found part for the moment.

She nodded, "Yes. I have already destroyed it."

"Why were you so upset then?" He prodded.

"The ministry is still looking for a way into Hogwarts. Jake said they think that Dumbledore's trying to train you all in combat to build a private wizard army or something to take over the ministry. Cells said Fudge is getting more and more paranoid by the day."

Harry snorted, "That's ridiculous."

She smiled wanly, "Yeah, no kidding."

"Kate, I know you're keeping something from me." He told her bluntly.

She sighed, "I am." She confirmed, "But I am not ready to tell you, as it would do you no good to know, nor does it really affect anything with you right now."

"But you _will_ tell me? Eventually?" He continued.

"Yes." She said, "Always."

He smiled in relief. "Good. Now, I need some help with my Astronomy homework, then we can work on starting up Dumbledore's army with my training first."

_**THAT NIGHT IN THE COMMON ROOM**_

"That sucked." Ron declared as he and Harry entered the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Why did it suck?" Hermione asked him.

"It didn't suck completely." Harry amended for his friend, who had flopped into a chair and begun brooding. "The Slytherins kept heckling us until Kate came and offered to give them some extra dueling tips, so they weren't 'wasting their time with nothing' as she put it. Nobody could tell who she was insulting."

"I was terrible until they left." Ron moaned.

"At least you were good after." Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, but I almost sent Bell to the hospital wing." Ron snarked.

"Have either one of you got any of your homework done?" Hermione asked them, "Its nearly 9, and you haven't even had dinner yet, have you?" They both shook their heads.

"Let's go to the kitchens." Harry suggested, Hermione looked ready to protest, but he cut her off. "If we hurry we can beat curfew, and I want to visit Dobby anyway, plus I've only got Potions left and we've got tomorrow too."

"Yeah" Ron agreed, looking much more cheerful now that food was an option, "You can tell us how your visit with Professor Ross went as well."

"Fine." She agreed after a moment. They packed their bags and exited the Common Room at top speed, Ron and Harry eager to get food.

"What did you and Kate talk about?" Harry asked as they descended the first on many staircases.

"A few things" Hermione began gushing, "we talked about Transfiguration and how it can be used in dueling and she even taught me _4 _new spells! We also talked about women in professional dueling and then charms masteries. She also told me everything she could remember about OWLs and we discussed my getting an apprenticeship with someone for Arithmancy or Transfiguration or Charms. She actually said she thought I could do all three if I wanted!"

Harry and Ron exchanged looks as Hermione continued in this vein for sometime.

"-of course several others joined us, Ravenclaws mostly, and then she must have seen the Slytherins bothering you guys because she left us practicing a spell that can turn anything not alive into ice instantly and returned with them a couple minutes later. When they came in there was enough people to have a normal class and she taught 4 different dueling strategies not on the syllabus. She is really passionate about DADA-it's amazing to watch and she's _such_ a good teacher. Willing to do extra lessons because students want more information-even _Malfoy_ was interested."

Harry's mind screeched to a halt. "Kate was teaching the Slytherins and Malfoy how to duel!?" He asked.

"That's what I just said." Hermione retorted.

"Why?" He demanded feeling jealous all of a sudden. That was _his _sister, not theirs.

"Because they wanted to learn and I think she likes teaching." Hermione said like it was obvious, "Don't worry, Harry, she didn't cover anything nearly as advanced as what you two do."

Harry felt an odd relief at that. "That's good, I wouldn't want them to get anything over us." He lied.

Hermione gave him a knowing smile, "She would never let anyone get anything over you."

"Yeah." He agreed, catching the double meaning that went straight over Ron's head.

The next interesting thing that happened that night came nearly the moment they walked into the Common Room, having had to sneak back from the kitchens after missing curfew.

"Is that Hermes?" Hermione asked, sounding surprised.

"Blimey! It is!" Ron exclaimed, jumping up and going to open the window, a hopeful bounce in his step.

He took the envelope and tore it open with Harry and Hermione reading over his shoulder.

_Dear Ron,_

_I have only just heard (from no less a person than the Minister of Magic himself, who has it from another member of the ministry) that you have become a Hogwarts prefect._

_I was most pleasantly surprised when I heard this news and must firstly offer my congratulations. I must admit that I have always been afraid that you would take what we might call the "Fred and George" route, rather than following in my footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some real responsibility. _

_But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron, I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post. Hopefully you will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid awkward questions._

_From something the Minister let slip when telling me you are now a prefect, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Harry Potter. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in danger of losing your badge more than continued fraternization with that boy. Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this — no doubt you will say that Potter has always been Dumbledore's favorite — but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts much longer and the people who count have a very different — and probably more accurate — view of Potters behavior. I shall say no more here, but if you look at the Daily Prophet tomorrow you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing — and see if you can spot yours truly!_

_Seriously, Ron, you do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Potter, it could be very damaging to your future prospects, and I am talking here about life after school too._

_It may be that you are afraid to sever ties with Potter — I know that he can be unbalanced and, for all I know, violent — but if you have any worries about this, or have spotted anything else in Potter's behavior that is troubling you, I urge you to speak to Dolores Umbridge, a really delightful woman, who I know will be only too happy to advise you. She will be on her way shortly, I promise._

_This leads me to my other bit of advice. As I have hinted above, Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts may soon be over. Your loyalty, Ron, should be not to him, but to the school and the Ministry. I shall say only this — a student who shows himself willing to help Dolores Umbridge when she arrives might be set up for a head boyship in a couple of years!_

_I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the summer. It pains me to criticize our parents, but I am afraid I can no longer live under their roof while they remain mixed up with the dangerous crowd around Dumbledore (if you are writing to Mother at any point, remind her of the kind of petty criminals with whom they are currently rubbing shoulders). I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of association with such people — the Minister really could not be more gracious to me — and I do hope, Ron, that you will not allow family ties to blind you to the misguided nature of our parents' beliefs and actions either. I sincerely hope that, in time, they will realize how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes._

_Please think over what I have said most carefully, particularly the bit about Harry Potter, and congratulations again on becoming prefect._

_Your brother,_

_Percy_

(Rowling OotP 14. 296-98)

Ron snarled furiously as he read it and by the time he was done, had crumpled the parchment and begun to rip it up. "He is the world's _biggest _git!"

Harry smirked, "Well, if you'd like to _sever ties_ with me, I promise I won't get violent."

"Shut up." Ron grumbled, but Harry could hear a small smile in his voice.

"It's like Kate always tells Harry, they're all crickets." Hermione said.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Make all kinds of noise at night when no one is around but as soon as you get near em or the lights go one and you can see em, they go silent." Harry explained.

"Oh, that makes sense." Ron conceded after a moment.

"Neither one of you should worry. This is _Percy _we're talking about." Hermione tried to console them.

"What about the part with that lady, Imbudge or whatever?" Ron asked.

"Kate told me that the ministry was still trying to interfere at Hogwarts. They think Dumbledore's trying to build up a private army to take over the ministry or something." Harry confided.

Both of his friends were silent for a moment before Ron suddenly burst out laughing. "That-that's hilarious!" He gasped.

"We would be a great army I thought." Harry said in mock disappointment.

Hermione snorted. "Well some of us. Are you two done with your homework yet?"

"Almost." Ron answered as Harry said, "Yep."

"Let's go to bed then, it's nearly midnight and we should visit Hagrid tomorrow." Hermione suggested.

Harry and Ron were quick to agree and none of the three noticed the face flickering in the fire as they went up the stairs.

A/N: REVIEW!


	24. Chapter 24: The High Inquisitor

Chapter 24: The High Inquisitor

_**THE NEXT MORNING IN THE GREAT HALL**_

Harry had barely gotten his first bite of breakfast in his mouth when Hermione let out a loud gasp pulled her _Daily Prophet_ closer to her face. "No!" She exclaimed as she read further.

Harry and Ron exchanged looks, Percy's letter from the night before was still fresh in their minds. "What is it?" Ron asked her.

Harry shifted to try and get a look at the paper and only got a brief flash of movement from a large picture on the front of the paper before Hermione turned the page.

She didn't respond right away, but looked up after a few moments, her face grim. By now other students who got the _Daily Prophet_ were whispering to their friends and up at the staff table, many of the professors seemed to be sporting dark looks, even Kate looked both resigned and furious at the same time as she read over Snape's shoulder.

"The ministry" she began, "is sending someone-Umbridge-to _investigate _the teaching at Hogwarts." She bit out. "Specifically Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Harry felt his stomach drop as he stole a glance at Kate and then looked back to his friends, "What? What does that mean?" He demanded.

She shunted the paper towards him, and he began to read for himself.

**MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM**

**DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST-EVER "HIGH INQUISITOR"**

_In a surprise move last night the Ministry of_ _Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

'_The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings-on at Hogwarts for some time,' said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley. 'He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve.'_

_This is not the first time in recent weeks Fudge has used new laws to effect improvements at the Wizarding school. As recently as August 30th Educational Decree Twenty-two was passed, to ensure that, in the event of the current headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person. It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalized with the passing of Educational Decree Twenty-three, which creates the new position of 'Hogwarts High Inquisitor.'_

'_This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get to grips with what some are calling the "falling standards" at Hogwarts, especially in regards to Defensive Magic' said Weasley. 'The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch.'_

_The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts. 'I feel much easier in my mind now that I know that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation,' said Mr. Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. 'Many of us with our children's best interests at heart have been concerned about some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and will be glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation.'_

_Among those 'eccentric decisions' are undoubtedly the controversial staff appointments previously described in this newspaper, which have included the hiring of werewolf Remus Lupin, half giant Rubeus Hagrid, and delusional ex-Auror 'Mad-Eye' Moody._

_Rumors abound, of course, that Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, is no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts. 'I think the appointment of the Inquisitor is a first step toward ensuring that Hogwarts has a headmaster in whom we can all repose confidence,' said a Ministry insider last night._

_Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden have resigned in protest at the introduction of the post of Inquisitor to Hogwarts. 'Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office,' said Madam Marchbanks. 'This is a further disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore.' (For a full account of Madam Marchbanks' alleged links to subversive goblin groups, turn to page 17)._

"The ministry is interfering at Hogwarts." Harry said blankly, his mind whirring with implications. "They are trying to-to what exactly? Oust Kate? Get Dumbledore fired? Discredit me?"

"The last two for sure, but probably all three." Ron answered him darkly.

"But-but that won't work." Harry frowned, "Kate's too popular with the students, even the Slytherins like her."

"Yes, but the ministry doesn't know that, do they?" Hermione retorted, "Which-actually… we can use that…"

"How?" Ron asked, eyes flashing eagerly.

"Well…" Hermione's brow furrowed in thought, "If everyone hates her because she's trying to get rid of Kate-then they might just oppose her other policies on principle, which would help Harry and Dumbledore."

Harry nodded, "Yeah, and if she's focused on Kate, which Kate could definitely draw her attention on purpose, she won't have much time to do anything else…"

"The hat was right about you after all." Ron muttered wryly, "But this doesn't help us get _rid _of her."

Hermione sighed, "The only way _that_ is going to happen is if Voldemort comes out into the open."

"Yeah." Harry agreed, glancing back to the staff table, which now was occupied by professors whispering to each other, engaged in their own planning for the fallout of the newest educational decree. "D'you think we should still visit Hagrid?"

"Yes." Hermione said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "He could probably tell us what..Snuffles' friends are going to do, if not the staff as well."

Harry and Ron both nodded in agreement and the trio rushed to finish the rest of their breakfast.

Less than half an hour later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting around the table in Hagrid's hut, mugs of tea in hand as they listened to him recount his mission to the giants.

"Course' soon as we found out abou' Harry, we came righ' back. Dumbledore's orders, see, he wanted ter have everyone on 'and jus' in case we found yeh in a tight spot or somethin'." Hagrid explained, "I heard I 'ad a half brother as well, bu' I didn' get ter meet 'im, maybe next time."

Harry smiled even as he silently hoped that Hagrid's giant half-brother never came anywhere near Hogwarts. "I'm sorry that I caused such a fuss, but I really was fine with my friends, more than fine actually."

"Tha's all the' matter then, init?" Hagrid answered easily, but sincerely.

"Yes." Hermione agreed, "But we were hoping you knew something about the ministry person, being a professor and all that?"

Hagrid puffed up at that as he clearly fought a grin. "Well, you know I'm not s'posed ter say anythin' abou' tha', but I reckon you lot should know that none o' the p'fessors are very happy bout' the whole thing."

"Well yeah, the ministry's trying to spy on everyone." Ron said darkly, "I reckon they're trying to figure out how to get rid of everyone."

Hagrid snorted slightly, "'specially Dumbledore."

"What are they going to do about it?" Harry pressed.

"Well, there ain't much they _can _do, now it there?" Hagrid answered easily. "We'll all try an' resist, bu' we can't really do much ter 'em and they can't really do much ter us, not yet anyway."

"Why not?" Harry demanded.

"'cause the ministry doesn't got any teachin' positions, but I suppose they could try ter fire someone. Dumbledore'd block 'em though." Hagrid explained.

"So it's more just the start?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. Why are you lot so interested anyway?" Hagrid asked suspiciously, "Yeh aren't abou' ter get yourselves in any trouble are yeh?"

Harry, Ron and Hermione all tried to protest but Hagrid cut them off. "Harry, yer in enough trouble with the ministry as it is, yeh shouldn't be pushin' for more, let the professors handle this one."

_**LATER THAT DAY**_

"This affects _everyone_, we can't just sit by and do nothing!" Harry argued, for the second time that day as he stared across the desk at his eldest sister.

"It does, but in this case the best help you can give anyone is to not give Umbridge any ammunition against you or anyone else. Don't give them anything and they will get frustrated and make themselves look bad as they try to provoke you." Kate explained bluntly, "Force them to act out, beat them at their own game, don't let them beat you. Use Occlumency if you have to, all of you." She looked at Ron and Hermione meaningfully as well.

"Are _you _going to keep your head down?" Harry challenged.

Kate gave him a grim smile, "No, I'm going to take her attention away from my little brother."

Harry fought a beaming smile even as he tried to mount an argument against her. Finally he settled on, "How?"

"Well, Fudge is scared Dumbledore is trying to build his own wizard army to take over the ministry, using me, and I fully intend to make a kick-ass "army" out of the students, or at least, teach them how to fight and survive the coming war." She explained, "And I think it's been too long since I've had a good prank campaign against an authority figure."

Harry snorted while Hermione made and odd noise, but it was Ron who came up with an answer, "And you aren't going to let us help!?"

"I didn't say you couldn't help privately, in fact I expect help. I'll also probably convince your brothers to help." She said, "You know they've been trying to prank me all week, it seems they've finally given up. Or just got sick of my retaliation."

All three grinned at that, though Hermione looked a little dubious.

"Now, I don't have anything to do, and if you don't either, we could do some army drills." Kate chirped cheerily.

All three burst out laughing even as they got their wands and stood up.

_**MONDAY MORNING**_

"What do you think she looks like?"

"What do you think she's going to do?"

"What _can_ she do?"

"She can't give out detentions, can she?"

"She's not going to stay all year, right?"

"D'you think she'll catch Potter in his lies?"

"Wonder how they plan on evaluating the professors?"

"I hope she fires Snape…"

Whispers had broken out around the hall when Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape, all stood up and left the rest of the school at breakfast to go outside-probably to meet the new High Inquisitor.

"If she's as annoying as Kate claims, then she's gonna get destroyed by _everyone_." Ron remarked quietly to Harry.

"Yeah, it should be fun." Harry muttered with a dark grin. He was predisposed to hate Dolores Umbridge, despite never having met her because she was there to get him and Kate.

"And we'll be _keeping our heads down_!" Hermione reminded them in a harsh undertone. "Like Kate told us."

"Don't worry, Hermione!" Ron rolled his eyes. "We won't do anything…"

"Except laugh." Harry finished.

"Yeah, that too." Ron concurred.

"You are impossible!" Hermione huffed, without any real heat.

"Why thank you!" Both boys exclaimed at the same time, and with grins.

"I see the resemblance between you, Fred and George now." Hermione remarked dryly. "And Harry, Kate and Jamie."

Ron looked a little disgruntled but Harry was perfectly happy to be compared with his sisters.

"What do we have first again?"

"History of Magic." Hermione told them.

"Com'n, we'll find out more later, maybe someone else will know what's happening." Harry suggested. Ron and Hermione both popped out of their seats at that and they made their way out of the hall.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't learn anything more until lunch when Fred and George informed them that "Professor Umbridge" was sitting in on classes and "evaluating teachers" to determine if they were what the ministry wanted. According to them, she had the ability to propose new educational decrees and refer students to teachers for punishment.

It wasn't until Divination, which Harry and Ron had after lunch, that Harry actually met her.

It was just as they were pulling out their dream journals, which Harry and Ron had completely made up that morning, that Ron and Harry both spotted a short, plump woman with a square jaw and face rather resembling a sickly sweet frog emerged from the trapdoor, dressed in all pink.

"Hem hem." The woman, who Harry quickly realized was Dolores Umbridge, cleared her throat. "You received my note that I was going to be inspecting and evaluating you this period I trust?"

Professor Trelawney gave a jerky nod, "I did." She proceeded to continue handing out books and told the class to break up into pairs.

Harry and Ron bent their heads together, pretending to be working while they eavesdropped on Umbridge and Trelawney.

"How long have you been working here, Professor?" Umbridge asked in a disgusting, high pitched and sugary voice, one that made Harry want to vomit.

"Si-sixteen years." Professor Trelawney stuttered.

"I see." Umbridge made a note on her clipboard. "And it was Dumbledore that appointed you?"

"That's right." Another note.

"You are also the great-great granddaughter celebrated seer Cassandra Trelawney?"

"Yes, I am." Professor Trelawney sounded proud as Umbridge made another note.

"But you are the first in your family since her to have the Sight?" Umbridge prodded.

"Yes-er these things tend to-er-skip ah...three generations." Professor Trelawney said.

Another note on the clipboard. "Would you mind making a prediction of some sort for me?" Umbridge gave a horrifyingly sugary smile as she looked up at the Divination Professor questioningly. "Well?"

Professor Trelawney stared at her uncomprehendingly. "What?" She clutched her shawl tightly to her body as she swayed ever so slightly. "The Inner Eye does not see on command!" She exclaimed.

Harry did not normally like the Divination Professor, but he certainly felt sorry for her as she was examined by Umbridge, whom he already hated.

"Pity." Umbridge tutted as she made another note on her clipboard. "Very well, if that's all, I am going to speak to a few of the stu-"

"Wait!" Professor Trelawney exclaimed, "I see something-I see-I see," she clutched a hand to her heart, "You are-you are in grave _danger_!" She said dramatically. Harry fought the urge to cringe as she finished and Umbridge stared at her condescendingly.

She made another note on her clipboard.

"Lovely." Umbridge said with a fake smile. "I think I'm going to walk around now." She turned away from the frazzled woman and began wandering towards several Ravenclaws, clipboard in hand.

Professor Trelawney, hands still shaking, suddenly whirled on Harry and Ron and swept over to them, snapping "Well? Let me see the start you've made on your dream journals."

Harry felt a lot less sorry for her as she harped on them for the remainder of the lesson, loudly interpreting their dreams. Umbridge went around to various students, but thankfully did seem to notice Harry or Ron, and asked them questions about their opinions on Trelawney and Divination. She also made the mistake (for her, not them) of asking Parvati and Lavender if they thought Divination was worthwhile with Professor Trelawney as the teacher.

In fact, it wasn't until the bell rang and Harry had just begun to think that he had avoided her completely, that she came up to him and Ron.

Harry had been focusing on getting to Kate, whom he had DADA with next period, as fast as possible when Ron suddenly stopped in front of him and he looked up from his bag to see Professor Umbridge, in all her glory, standing in front of them with a sugary fake smile. "I didn't have a chance to ask you children what you thought of Professor Trelawney." She said.

Harry realized just how short the woman, if she could be called that, that was. She couldn't have been taller than five feet, if that, and she was plump to boot. Her smile looked like a toad getting ready to stick its tongue out and snatch a fly.

"She's fine." Ron said gruffly.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, she's a good teacher." He lied. The little pink bow on the top of her mousey brown hair made Harry have fight revulsion. She was just so fake and condescending.

He tried to brush past her but did not get very far before she cleared her throat and spoke. "Hem hem. I did not dismiss you Mr. Potter." Her voice was high and girlish despite the fact that they were almost face to face.

Harry turned for just a moment, fighting the part of him that rebelled at being told what to do like a five year old. "You aren't an actual Professor." He retorted, "You have no power over me."

She smiled dangerously, "But I do, Mr. Potter. I don't know who told you those nasty lies, but I must take ten points from Gryffindor for your insolence."

Harry scoffed, "Right."

He stalked right by her, intent on speaking with Kate before class, and was glad to hear Ron on his heels.

He walked quickly through the halls and could hear Ron jogging to keep up as he moved, but Harry didn't care as blood rushes in his ears and he cut through another shortcut. He came to a halt outside the door and took a deep breath to collect himself. It occurred to him briefly that Kate might disapprove of how he'd dealt with Umbridge but he also knew she'd side with him regardless. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused on his Occlumency barrier.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and went into the room. "Professor?"

Kate Ross looked up, startled, "Harry?"

"I met Umbridge." He said bluntly, sitting on a desk in the front row. He didn't see Ron hovering awkwardly by the door, but did see Kate motion him inside.

She grimaced, "Yes, I have my 'inspection' with you lot next week."

Harry jerked in surprise at that, "How come you didn't say anything?"

"I only found out this morning, apparently Professor Flitwick had his this morning and Trelawney had hers last period." Kate explained, "Weren't you in that class?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I was."

"That's how you met her then, I take it?"

Harry scowled slightly, "She tried to dock me 10 points from Gryffindor, but she can't do that, right?"

"She can, but her decisions can be reversed by any of the staff members who have the power to give points." Kate said pleasantly, "For example, I, Professor Ross, reverse the ten points taken from Harry Potter of Gryffindor House by Dolores Umbridge."

Harry snickered at that, "Does she have any actual power?"

"Not in the school directly, not yet anyway." Kate said bluntly, "The ministry is looking to fire someone to insert Umbridge as an actual Professor, I have no idea who they are going to target, we all have our advantages and disadvantages in their eyes. But ultimately, they want Dumbledore gone."

Harry sobered at the reminder of all that was happening outside the walls of Hogwarts. "Oh."

"Don't worry, Harry." Kate said, seemingly realizing her mistake, "There is nothing happening, the most important battle is happening here."

Harry nodded, "How are you going to deal with Umbridge?"

Kate smirked, "Now that would be telling."

AN:::I'm really sorry I skipped last week...REVIEW!


	25. Chapter 25: Investigations

Chapter 25: Investigations

_**1:40 AM IN THE MORNING IN AN UNPLOTTABLE LOCATION IN EGYPT**_

Jamie shuffled down the rows of the sprawling library she was in as quietly as possible. The layers of dust were heavy as she spelled her feet to not disturb anything. She glanced along the shelves and cast a quick translation spell that ensured she could read the ancient Egyptian writing.

"Hor-Horc-Hortia, no-Herpo-Herpo the Foul! Gotcha!" She muttered to herself.

Not too far behind her, a quiet padding of feet gave away another presence in the room. She turned down the aisle and carefully went through the names and titles of the ancient manuscripts. This really wasn't her area of expertise, but she was one of the only free Rogues at the moment, so here she was. She resisted the temptation to start trying to talk to her companion, who was right in her niche with their little mission, and would be upset with the distraction.

She swallowed hard, her mouth dry from all the dust and dry desert heat, despite the darkness outside. Normally, this particular library was open for visiting hours daily, in the wizarding world at least, but they couldn't afford to draw attention to themselves and risk exposing their research to _anyone_. So instead, she and Cella had snuck in with Drake standing guard outside and providing the spells to keep them undetected.

The ancient library of Alexandria was decked out in the best wizarding security wards in modern Egypt to protect it from another attempted burning like the one Caesar had tried to do so many centuries ago. The muggles didn't even know it existed, much less with all of its manuscripts and texts, along with many more wizarding documents and books that had been added over the years by everyone from Merlin to Drake himself. It was perhaps the single greatest collection of information of the planet, undoubtedly so for wizards. Even the renowned Hogwarts Library couldn't compare.

Tonight though, she was only here for one person, one name...Herpo the Foul.

On the other side of the book shelf Jamie was dragging her eyes across, Cella was looking for any and all information on soul magic and Horcruxes specifically. Her main job was to find out how a Horcrux worked and what tied a soul to a specific item. Having been briefed by Kate and Drake, both knew what was at stake, and made sure to make copies of as much information as they could. They, Kate had decided, needed to find out how the Horcrux ritual tore the soul apart exactly, whether it could be centralized to one part, and whether a soul could be transferred to different containers once outside the body. Kate wanted to remove the soul piece and put it in another item to be destroyed, essentially.

She carefully pulled a scroll, containing a letter, down from the shelf and opened it.

_As to your other question...the main parts of Horcrux, the soul piece and the container, are linked...if the container is destroyed and is unable to be fixed, the soul piece shall, of course, die with it...the original or otherwise unconnected part of the soul would remain intact, this granting immortality to the creator…I plan to use this to halve my soul but must continue my research into the magicks of pain and souls...the incantations for such magicks has un-fortuitously eluded me thus far in my quest, but I feel close...it is particularly tricky to contain the fracture to a split rather than a shattering of the soul...the incantation summons violent magic as it is, to end another soul is to use the strongest of powers after all...I fear that should one try to halve the soul too many times, they may shatter the soul like a wine glass with much exposure to such force...I would not dare it, even for my quest._

_-Herpo_

Jamie felt a chill run down her spine as she realized that this was exactly what had happened to Voldemort. But he also clearly missed this memo. She waved her wand over the paper and stuffed it into her bag to send back and continued on her search.

The next scroll she pulled was not a letter but rather a list of ingredients, also by Herpo.

_6 Chicken Eggs_

_6 Toads_

_Fire Wood_

_Wiring_

_Cloth_

Jamie stared at the short list of random items...what exactly was _this _for? She looked down further on the page.

_Recreate success like with first…appears to be a snake as I am capable of conversing with it...I think I shall henceforth name thee a Basilisk, should the next trial succeed._

Oh. This was one messed up dude, she decided. And this was also useless...though basilisk venom was a known way to destroy a Horcrux so maybe she should take it just in case?

She also put that in her bag and moved on, her research continuing in this vein for the next hour. On the other side of the self, Cella was doing the same thing, but with the topic of Horcruxes specifically rather than Herpo the Foul. Jamie got Herpo because Kate wanted to know about all of his experiences with Horcruxes not just the ones that people put in books and notes about Horcruxes. For the horse's mouth, so to speak.

By the end of the night their bags, even with their undetectable extension charms, were nearly full. Around 3:30 AM, they decided to call it quits and snuck back out to find Drake waiting for them across the street. He let them out of the wards and hid all the evidence of their little break-in, as well as reactivated the security spells. The last thing he did was mask their magical signatures.

Tomorrow, the keepers of the library would find all of the missing scrolls and no doubt the whole world would know of the mysterious break-in within the next two days.

_**ORDER HEADQUARTERS LATER THAT DAY**_

Jake leaned back in his chair and allowed his back to crack as he straightened. The meeting had taken far longer than normal thanks to the seemingly endless list of problems for them to cover. Voldemort's latest activities, Dolores Umbridge, the break in at the famed Library of Alexandria in Egypt, and of course, the fact that he had nearly been caught on guard duty by both a death eater, who had tried to cast an imperious curse on him and failed, then several hit wizards who had responded to the alarms that had been tripped when the curse was cast (and then the death eater had fled in a panic triggering a second alarm).

But now it was all winding down and Molly had left to begin dinner for the members of the Order that wanted to stay. All of the professors had to get back to the school, and several others had to return home to their families or finish work for their jobs, but quite a few others stayed to eat Molly's notoriously good food. Jake himself had been planning on heading back to the ranch to congratulate Jamie and Cella on their success, but was waylaid by a shifty looking Sirius Black.

"Jake!" He exclaimed as Jake left the main room, "I need a word about these Death Eaters."

Jake quirked an eyebrow at the exaggerated exclamation as his friend pulled him into a side room and waved his wand, putting privacy spells up. "What's up, Sirius?" He asked.

"I..I need to run something by you." He ran a hand through his hair hesitantly and Jake tried to run his mind through the possible problems the last Black could be having. "It's-well, I suppose you're the only one I can really talk to about this...everyone else would go straight to Dumbledore or-or tell me that I'm full of it."

"And Dumbledore can't know?" Jake prodded, curiosity growing.

"It's Harry." He explained, "I don't want him interfering in our relationship, he hasn't the right really, but I owe him my freedom, so I haven't a choice. Plus you don't know Harry, so you might be more-er..._objective_."

"And what's wrong with Harry?"

Sirius hesitated, "You can't tell _anyone_." He emphasized slowly.

Jake nodded slowly, wondering if something big had happened and Kate simply hadn't said anything. But she wouldn't do that, so this was new information, but Harry would've told them...right?

"I-er, I tried to fire call Harry in the Gryffindor Common Room." Sirius said.

Jake's eyes widened in surprise, "I see." This wasn't what he was supposed to be doing, but it certainly wasn't worth this kind of secrecy.

"And I didn't get to talk to him." Sirius sounded genuinely upset about this, but Jake couldn't see where this was going.

"I watched them for a while, trying to get their attention after everyone left. I saw them get a letter from Percy, Ron's elder brother, who sided with the ministry." Sirius said, "The letter really pissed them off." He shook his head, "But then, it got weird."

"How so?" Jake asked, carefully casual.

"They started talking about someone named 'Kate' and all three of them knew too much. More than they should...they _knew _that the ministry was trying to interfere at Hogwarts! And this Kate person told them, but there are no Kates in the Order!" Sirius began to sound frantic.

Jake froze in horror. No. They couldn't have been discovered this easily. "So do you have any idea who this Kate person is?" He prodded carefully.

"No!" Sirius sounded extremely frustrated, "I have no idea, I've been in prison for 12 years, I'm not exactly up on the times and Harry hasn't ever mentioned a 'Kate' before."

Jake heaved a mental sigh of relief, "Ok...and what are we going to do?"

"We have to find out who this is!" Sirius exclaimed, "We don't know anything about this person, where they are getting their information, what are their intentions with _my _godson?"

Jake mentally groaned even as he nodded along. "You're right, we should check it out. But we need to be discreet, we can't let this 'Kate' get wind of this or this could go downhill fast."

"I'll start asking around quietly, you can start looking through newspapers, see if you can find anything."

"Right." The first thing he needed to do, after he got away, was warn Kate.

_**HOGWARTS THE FOLLOWING MONDAY MORNING**_

Harry walked into DADA feeling as if he was forgetting something. Hermione and Ron were quiet next to him, but he didn't figure out why until he saw Kate, or rather the woman standing next to Kate.

"Professor" Umbridge stood next to his eldest sister with a condescending, overly sweet smile, speaking in low tones to Kate, who had a pleasant smile forcefully plastered to her face.

Harry took his seat warily as Umbridge looked up and made eye contact with him.

The High Inquisitor had made a nuisance of herself the whole of last week, repeatedly trying to put Harry, and several other students, in detention. She had yet to succeed thanks to the efforts of various professors but was already annoying people with her presence.

She was also dead set on convincing everyone that Harry was lying about the return of Voldemort. Umbridge had also followed Harry, Ron and Hermione around religiously, forcing them to spend extra time dodging her when they wanted to see Kate. They knew she was trying to catch Harry out of bounds but they had been surprised to find out that she was also trying to get Kate and Filch on her side and against the rest of the staff, which had already begun rallying against her. The other students, who hadn't known what to think when she'd shown up, were quickly growing to hate the ministry hack and behaving accordingly. Fred and George had already sold several of their Skiving Snackboxes, incomplete, to students who wished to slip Umbridge one.

They had sped up their efforts to develop joke products instead of trying to prank Kate, whom they had yet to catch unawares. She had told them, and then reminisced to Harry, that they should wait until things escalated with the ministry before starting a prank war. It was quickly becoming apparent that Umbridge wouldn't stop until Harry and Professor Dumbledore were gone.

Several other professors had been "evaluated" by Umbridge in the meantime. Flitwick, Sinstra, Binns, Sprout, and several others whom Harry did not have for any class. Kate, McGonagall, Snape, and Hagrid were the only professors who had yet to be subjected to Umbridge.

Well, until today. The last of the class shuffled in just as the bell rang and Kate stood up while Umbridge walked to a corner and conjured a stool; to begin taking notes, most likely.

"We're going to talk about the basics of dueling today, so get ready to take notes if you're into that...I'll mostly be going off the practical side and not everything we're going to talk about will be in the book, so pay attention."

"Hem hem." There was a little cough from Umbridge's corner of the room and everyone turned to stare as Kate stood in front of the blackboard.

"Yes?" Professor Ross asked turning to Umbridge herself.

"Are you sure that _dueling _is something that should be taught to school children?" She asked in a giggly girlish voice, "Especially certain parties in this room? Who have been rumored to be unstable?"

Harry felt a flash of hot anger at the not so subtle jab at him. Thankfully Kate came to the rescue.

"I have made the expectations of every one of my students clear and the consequences even more so. Not a single person in this room has, deliberately or otherwise, even toed the line. They all have my full confidence." She seemed to catch the eye of every student at once and Harry got the distinct impression the 5th year Gryffindors and Slytherins wouldn't let her down. Not today and not against Umbridge.

Umbridge made a note on her clipboard even as she gave Kate a patronizing smile, "Of course."

Kate turned back to the students and, though she looked to be completely calm, Harry knew she was already annoyed by the clenching of the back of her jaw. A muscle bulged as she clamped down on whatever she wanted to say...or what hex she wanted to fire at the pink bowed intrusion in her classroom.

Her jaw loosened again and she began her lecture, as planned for the double period. "There are several types of dueling, which originate from various instances where magical combat have been necessary in the past. Each of those types has branched off styles of dueling that are generally distinct from each other. Today, I'm going to give you an overview of each type but we will be focusing on combative dueling."

She paused to allow everyone to jot notes down, which even Harry and Ron did, before she continued. "The main types of dueling are combat, sport, and formal or exhibition dueling. Their subcategories are group combat, single combat, partner combat, one on one sport dueling, partner sport dueling, hand to hand combat, non wander sport dueling, honor dueling and mock dueling. Obviously, they all have similarities, but they are very different. Professional dueling circuits are all the sport dueling styles, which were developed as a mix between combative dueling, which was created for waging war, and exhibition or formal dueling, which includes honor duels, challenges for positions, mock duels, non-competitive duels, and basically any other form of dueling that is more for pomp and circumstance than actual fighting."

She paused to allow students to take notes, while Umbridge made another note on her clipboard. "Excuse me for one tiny moment, Professor, but shouldn't you be teaching the dueling forms in an unbiased way? Especially as you seem insistent on degrading the only useful forms of dueling?"

Kate stared at her for a moment, struck dumb by the sheer stupidity of the statement. She had literally just done what she was upset at Kate for doing, but unlike Kate, she was wrong. "I am teaching in a way they will remember what I say. Further, I did not say they had to agree with what I said but, it was necessary to make the distinction between exhibition duels and all others."

"Now," Kate said continuing her lecture, "Combative dueling is the oldest and original form of dueling, both of the others were derived from it. Any war between magic users in history, in which the sides engaged in fighting is considered combative dueling, even if no magic was used. That is important to remember. The major categories are, of course, group duels, single duels, and partner duels."

"Group duels are when armies or more than 3 people to a side face off in a duel and work together as a team. This allows each side to organize themselves so specific people have specific jobs, like shielding, healing, or covering the group. There is a distinct difference between this and single combat dueling. In single combat, it is one on one dueling and partner dueling is a kind of middle between the two because in many ways it is a group combat duel, but the style of fighting, strategies and overall fight more resembles a singles duel. It is important to note that neither group or partner duels include when a group is fighting another group, but each member of a given group is fighting, in a single duel, another single. This is because, though they are working as a team, no one is helping or interfering in another duel."

She paused and waited for the questions she knew would come. Sure enough, hands began to float up as people wrote down what she had said and processed it. "Daphne?" She nodded at the Gryffindor.

"Professor, what do they happens when someone is dueling single, but someone on their side interferes with the duel?"

"Not all clashes fit neatly into one catagory, especially with combative duels because of the spontaneity of the event. So one must look at the overall duel, rather than a specific instance, if, for example, you and I were dueling and Tracy suddenly shot a spell at me before going back to her own duel, our duel would still be considered a singles duel, but if she continued to help you then it would turn into a specific kind of duel, a group-single duel, which is any duel where multiple combatants are facing off against one opponent at the same time."

"Professor?" Hermione called out.

Kate turned to her next, "Go ahead Hermione."

"What if in a single duel, one person wins and another person takes the defeated person's place?"

"Then a new singles duel has started. A group or partner duel only occurs when multiple combatants are facing off at the same time."

"What are the main differences between combat singles and sport singles?" Seamus asked Kate.

"Mostly rules, or the existence of rules in sports duels. Everything is fair play in combat dueling, it's war, but in sports, there are spells that are illegal and regulations that dictate everything from the size of the area to the clothes that a duelist can wear. In sports, the goal is to win in one of the ways that the predetermined rules define as a win, such as forcing an opponent out of the area. In combat, the goal is to win, which can include arresting your opponent, forcing them to retreat, or even killing them."

"Hem hem" Came the predictable interruption.

Kate acted as if she didn't hear the interruption as she fielded another question.

"HEM HEM!" This time it was practically yelled and Kate turned.

"Yes, Dolores?"

"The ministry approved method of teaching combative dueling speaks nothing of violence." She simpered, "Children, it would be best to attempt to find a peaceful solution to any conflicts that arise, and should that fail, contacting the ministry is the best option as they are trained professionals and ministry approved officials, who will solve any problems."

Harry wanted to argue with her and shot his hand up to air his opinion, but Kate ignored him.

"I happen to agree with that." Professor Ross said, to the surprise of everyone in the room, "Peaceful solutions should always be the first option, not violence, but that is neither here nor there in a discussion about the different types of dueling."

Umbridge gaped at her for a moment and Harry smirked widely.

"Now, for the practical part of this lesson, we will be focusing on-"

"Hem hem!" Umbridge interrupted yet again. "The ministry feels that a strong theoretical backing on this material will be sufficient to ensure all students achieve an OWL in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"So you don't want us to _use _defensive spells!?" Harry blurted out, temper boiling just below the surface. Kate shot him a sharp look, but did not speak to stop him.

"I can't imagine, Mr. Potter, a situation in which you would actually be required to use defensive spells. Unless you think you are going to be attacked in this classroom?" Umbridge simpered forcefully.

"So the first time the ministry would have us use a spell is during the test?" Hermione cut in, "That defeats the whole point of this class!"

"Are you a ministry certified educational expert?" Umbridge asked, "No? Then you aren't really qualified to determine the 'whole point' of any class, are you?"

Kate interrupted them. "Hermione is not an educational expert yet, but her opinion is valued in this classroom nonetheless." She said sharply, making every head swivel to her. "And I can think of several situations in which every single student will be required to know the spells and strategies covered today, and throughout the year. For one, today we will be breaking into partners to practice single combat spells and strategies." She waved her wand, "Those are your partners."

_Hermione-Draco_

_Vincent-Greg_

_Neville-Tracy_

_Ron-Theodore_

_Pansy-Seamus_

_Lavender-Millicent_

_Parvati-Daphne_

_Dean-Blaise_

_Harry-Professor Ross_

Kate pointedly ignored the grumbles as she moved all the desks aside with a flick of her wrist. "The partner with their name on the left line up in a line across the back of the room, names on the right line up in a line facing your partner. Today I am going to introduce spell chains to all of you. They are a very common dueling strategy in nearly every style, except those that only allow one spell to be shot at a time."

Excited whispers broke out as everyone, Slytherin or Gryffindor excitedly speculated on what chain they would be casting today.

"I hope that by now, you all have extensive knowledge of spells, from this class, charms, transfiguration, and even potions and herbology. Nearly anything can be used in combat dueling as either offensive or defensive spells. Conjuring a rock to shield yourself, summoning a book from the other side of the room that could hit your opponent, etc. Your homework this week will be to come up with a list of 75 uses for spells, minimum of 2 and max 5 uses per spell, that you learned in any other class that could be used in a duel. It doesn't matter how ridiculous it sounds, write it down." As she said it, the homework appeared on the board next to the list of dueling partners.

"Now, a spell chain is a series of spells that's wand movements can be done continuously without pause and lead into each other, and usually require a counter chain to defend against. They are easier with non-verbal casting, but can be done verbally as well. _Impedimenta, Diffindo, Immobulus_ is a simple spell chain that is brutally effective and useful in all combat and most sports duels. The main strategy behind it is to slow an opponent down with the first spell and either injure them with the second or capture them with the third. If the first one misses, the second can injure them so they can be captured with the third."

"Hem hem."

"The counter chain is a simple, _Protego, Finite Incantatum_, which is also a spell chain by itself. Obviously, we will not be practicing the first chain on each other, so partners will take turns on one of the practice dummies in the back. The counter chain, however, we will be practicing on each other, using the last two spells of a different and slightly more advanced chain. _Protego, Incendio, Ferula, Silencio_, is a chain that is both defensive and offensive, as well as incredibly versatile. The shield can be modified to protect any given person or group, _Incendio_, likewise can target a single person or a group. Ferula, you all might know, is a healing spell that can be used to help your own side in a group combat situation, but also impede an opponent. Having slings, bandages, or splints suddenly appear and limit your movement in a duel can be detrimental. Finally, silencio stops an opponent from being able to communicate verbally with their side during a duel, effectively isolating them. Similarly, if they are reliant on verbal magic, then silencing them is as good as disarming them, but it is important not to assume that your opponent is not capable of non-verbal magic. We will be using _Ferula, Silencio_ today on each other today because they are countered with _Protego, Finite Incantatum_."

"Hem hem!" Umbridge called again, "Professor Ross!" She sounded like a whiny five year old, in Harry's opinion.

"Please begin." Kate finished and then waved Harry over to her. "Yes, Dolores?"

"Is it quite a good use of your time to be teaching content that, you may have yet to be around long enough to know, but will be impractical in the real world?" She asked Kate condescendingly.

"Well, it's important if they want to be aurors, hit wizards, curse breakers without masteries, get a mastery, or enchanters." Kate pointed out, "But yes, I think it is useful to understand some of the more common advanced dueling techniques."

Umbridge huffed, "Very well, if you refuse to listen. I am going to go around and speak with students, you will get the results of your inspection in ten days' time."

"Great." Kate said blandly. "Harry come here."

A/N:: This is rather late for me to post in a week (or early depending on how you look at it) but here is yet another chapter with a Ross-Umbridge face off...and is Sirius starting to wise up to Harry a little? I got to admit, he kind of surprised me too... REVIEW!


	26. Chapter 26: Results

Chapter 26: Results

"Thank you, Madam Marchbanks, truly." Kate said sincerely, "I'll be out as soon as I'm done." Umbridge's investigation had _inspired _her to use her day off to advance her credentials.

"Of course, dear, it's truly my pleasure though." An extremely old woman, wearing circular glasses, fine, if worn robes, and a perfume only grandmothers seemed to be able to pull off, said. "Good luck."

Kate smiled and sat down at the only table in the room, opening the ink well as she did and dipping the ministry issued quill into the black liquid.

Kate looked down at the booklet in front of her and flipped open to the first page of one. The book was stiff, as if it had not been used often, but smelled of aged paper nonetheless. The top of the page held the title of what Kate hoped would be the last government issued exam she ever had to take.

_General Magical Studies British Ministry Educational Expertise Examination_

She grinned as she read the first question, realizing quickly that the real test was the testing "fee" as a second year could pass the test itself.

_**ROSS RANCH LATER THAT DAY 9 AM LOCAL TIME**_

All of the adult Rogues were seated around the kitchen table during the group's rare intersecting moment of free time. "Reports?" Kate asked.

"There is no known way to destroy a Horcrux without destroying the container...and the only way to move the soul after creating the Horcrux transfer all souls in said container." Cella said bluntly. "Drake, Jamie, Frankie, and I all scoured every place we could think of. Lily went through every medical paper she could find…there is nothing."

The silence was somber, but the reports continued anyway.

"There isn't a way to carve specific parts of a soul apart. None that are known anyway. I suppose the first thing we should do is invent a way to figure out exactly what the situation is. We need to know if the souls are tethered to each other, if they are combined into one, or if they are even connected to each other directly, or only through the fact that they reside in the same body… I also want to know if the soul shard is in Harry's forehead or in the unknown space where his soul resides." Lily said, bringing a small, minuscule amount of progress by giving them a starting point, if nothing else.

Silence reigned for a long beat.

"The Order is continuing to have me guard the prophecy and they haven't given up on trying to figure out where Harry went this summer, though they aren't focused on it anymore." Jake said suddenly, breaking the tense quiet.

"So what are they doing then?" Jamie asked, a touch harshly.

"Trying to get the word out, gather intel on the death eaters, work out Voldie's plans." Jake retorted abruptly.

Jamie let out a noisy breath. "...Is Black still trying to figure out who Kate is?"

"Yes." Kate answered succinctly, "He started trying to prod Harry for information this week."

"What are we going to do if he figures us out?" Tiff asked the question no-one wanted to contemplate.

"We tell him the truth." Kate said simply, "If he reacts like we want, then he can keep his knowledge, if not, then we'll obliviate him and be done with it."

Several heads nodded their agreement. "Harry won't like that." Cella warned.

Kate sighed, "No, but he won't object. In the meantime, Jake, keep him as far off the trail as you can without exposing yourself."

Jake nodded sharply.

"Cella, I need you to do what you can to manipulate the British ministry… get them ready for war whether they want to be or not." Kate continued.

"Tiff, you need to continue to monitor Hogesmeade, keep track of the death eater, order, and ministry movements around Hogwarts. Let us know if anything is off."

Two more nods.

"Jamie, you're a celebrity in Britain now, use that to our advantage, see if you can subtly tamp down the heat on Harry, but _don't make it obvious_."

"Fine." Jamie grunted.

Kate made a mental note to speak with her later.

"Kenna, Frankie, I keep doing what you're doing and I'll keep you posted." She ordered. "Lily, give me _all _of our Horcrux information...let me take a crack at our little dilemma, I'll owl if there are any problems you can answer, tell Drake that applies to him too, if you see him."

"Right." Lily agreed, reaching over to grab the briefcase she brought with her. She opened it, peeked inside, closed and locked it, and then tossed it to Kate, who caught it easily, and laid it in her lap.

"I think that's all. I have to be back at the school for dinner in… half an hour. Jamie, you're coming with." She clapped her hands together as everyone got up and began to catch up, while Kate went straight to her sister and dragged her out.

_**HOGWARTS GREAT HALL, 6PM LOCAL TIME (DINNER)**_

The surprise appearance of Jamie Ross ensured that dinner in the Great Hall that night was a loud and boisterous affair. Upon arriving at the castle, Kate had taken Jamie straight to Albus's office and sheepishly asked him if she could stay for dinner so they could catch up. Thankfully, he'd simply twinkled at her and said yes rather easily.

Thus, when the students began to arrive for dinner and done an almost standard sweep of the staff table as they entered, excited whispering broke out as students strained to get a good look at the international quidditch star. Jamie seemed torn between ignoring the students or addressing them, so Kate took the initiative. "Why don't you eat then go hang out with them?"

Jamie nodded mutely and walked straight to the staff table, leaving Kate frowning at her back. She shook herself and walked after her normally friendly and playful younger sister.

As they sat, Kate elbowed Jamie in the ribs and muttered quietly into her ear, "You better play nice."

Jamie rolled her eyes but did loosen her face from stone-cold indifference to a more pleasant look.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Ms. Ross." Filius said brightly, giving Jamie a little bow.

Jamie smiled, "Thank you."

As dinner got underway, the students' excitement ensured a high noise level while Jamie exchanged pleasantries with various staff members before Kate quietly began the conversation she had brought Jamie with her to have. Making sure nobody overheard them, she asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Jamie snorted, "Nothing."

"Right, of course. That's why you bit Jake's head off earlier."

"I didn't bite his head off." Jamie scoffed, "I just think that the Order is a waste of time."

"Why?" Kate pressed, "They were an important part of the first war, and I thought we trusted them more than the ministry."

"Yes, but they aren't doing anything to help us and we are the ones trying to end this." Jamie retorted, "Which is pretty telling."

"They don't exactly know about us do they?" Kate asked rhetorically. "But we are trying to protect Harry specifically, they are trying to protect Britain."

Jamie growled, "Most of the wizards here deserve to get whatever Voldemort can do to them."

"I don't think that matters to them." Kate pointed out.

"Harry is the one that doesn't deserve any of this, yet if the Order wants to save this damned country then they need Harry to do it, so protecting him should be their main goal anyway."

"It is an objective." Kate sighed.

"Why are you defending them!?" Jamie hissed.

"I'm not, I'm not a huge fan of the Order or Dumbledore either, but I'm not going to start trashing them because they have different goals than me...we're still on the same side." Kate reasoned, "But I don't think the Order is your problem, its Harry isn't it?"

This seemed to be the explosion point for Jamie, "He's literally _dying _while the Order and ministry twiddle their _thumbs_! And we can't help him! We promised we'd always be there for him, always protect him and we _can't_! The Rogues didn't promise him, we, _Kate and Jamie_, did. We are over here, way out of our depth, trying to get any help we can and they aren't doing _shit _for someone they claim to _care _about!"

Ah. She was upset because she felt helpless.

"We are going to fix this. Harry will live." Kate said clearly and firmly, as if stating the results of a duel.

"How do you know that?" Jamie challenged.

"Because we've never failed, and I'll be damned if we start now."

Something in the way she said it made Jamie almost believe her.

_**LATER THAT NIGHT IN THE STAFF ROOM AFTER CURFEW**_

This was turning into one of the longest days of Kate's life, but she pulled herself together to get ready for one more showdown before she could get some much needed rest. Jamie had already gone home, after playing a pick up game of quidditch with the students and signing several autographs.

Between Kate and then Professor McGonagall's inspection, most of the students were emboldened by the success of both professors in thwarting the ministry's representative, whose constant harassment of the student had made her the least liked person in the castle. Umbridge had, thankfully, not been present while Jamie was in the castle, but that hadn't stopped the students from getting as messy as possible during the quidditch game because they knew she loved neatness. Little did any of the students know, but the rest of the staff had also been greatly inspired by the performances and even the staff meeting several days later to review the reports Umbridge had written couldn't ruin the rebellious mood.

"Professor Ross, I hear you had quite an eventful inspection earlier." Filius Flitwick commented cheerfully.

Kate grinned casually, "That's one way to put it."

"Attention, everyone!" Albus called, standing from his place at the head of the rectangular table in the Hogwarts staff room. The wooden table stood in one corner with miscellaneous chairs from different times and places pulled up around it. On one end sat Albus, and lined up on either side of him was the rest of the staff with Minerva (Poppy Pomfrey was on her other side) directly to his left and Hagrid (who had Pomona Sprout) to his right. The other end, opposite the Headmaster, sat Dolores Umbridge, looking distinctly out of place with all of the professors having pulled their seats as far away from her as possible. Kate sat between Filius and Severus and opposite Rolanda Hooch.

"It is late, so I think it would be best if we drove straight into the High Inquisitor's evaluations." He declared, only to be met with silence before a quick muttered agreement by those around him. His eyes twinkled in amusement at the lack of enthusiasm around him.

"Hem hem!" Umbridge called with an almost giggly tone. "I think I shall start with general observations and go from there?"

Nobody said anything but stared at her. Kate was already annoyed with this meeting, it really was a waste of time, which she could be spending trying to cure Harry or actually doing her job.

"Well, I think that the teaching-ehm-_quality_ is rather inconsistent across different subjects. There is clearly some emphasis on subjects that can be used in violent situations, and is therefore rather impractical and not up to ministry standards."

"Ministry standards?" Minerva enquired politely, "I thought that _we _set the standards."

"Ahem, well, yes, for other magical curriculums in Britain, but the ministry's Board of Governors is responsible for Hogwarts."

"There is a Board of Governors!?" Kate exclaimed loudly and incredulously. "Since when?"

"Since the ministry formed one in 1876." Umbridge informed her tartly.

"On what authority?" Kate prodded.

"We fund the school, so it is our prerogative as to what those funds are used for." Umbridge said bluntly.

"So everyone here is technically a ministry employee?" Kate asked, deceptively quiet.

"Well no-" Umbridge blustered, "the Hogwarts staff is employed by Hogwarts."

"Which is owned by the ministry?" Kate insisted.

"No. Funded by the ministry." Albus cut in.

Kate barely turned her head to acknowledge him. "So Hogwarts is a private institution?"

"Yes…" Minerva confirmed sounding a little confused as to why this was an issue.

"So any money we receive for funding is technically a donation?" Kate asked.

"Yes, though we only count non-ministry funds as donations, which we get quite a number of as well." Albus explained, as if encouraging her to continue her line of thought.

"So then we are independent of the ministry?" Kate asked, she got a few nods. "Then they _don't _have any authority here, legally speaking?"

"Yes we do!" Umbridge interrupted furiously, eyes glinting. "The Hogwarts charter outlines the provisions which this school are legally bound to operate and it has been lost to time, so the Headmistress at the time, Eupraxia Mole, allowed a board of governors to make decisions in regards to Hogwarts in conjunction with the ministry!"

"So there are no known legal grounds for the ministry to have anything to do with Hogwarts?" Kate summed up.

"There are laws about property falling to either an owners' heir, which the charter would explain, then to the landed aristocracy to whom the property falls under, assuming that the former and latter are not one in the same, as Hogwarts is. Since neither of these are available, the property falls to the ministry to claim and usually put up for sale." Albus explained.

Kate nodded and wondered who had conveniently gotten rid of the charter. There was no way it wasn't set up like that for either the ministry's gain or maybe to keep it out of the hands of the Gaunt family? She supposed this could be one of those times where she _should _leave well enough alone. Or she could find it and see what it says before making a decision.

Yeah, that was better. "I see. Never mind, I suppose."

Umbridge cleared her throat with her annoying little cough. "Now, I think I shall go with the most obvious, the children are far too undisciplined in all but select classes. They are allowed to run wild, speak as they please and perform magic all over the place with no structure! They are simply told to do a spell and left to their own devices! They could use that magic for anything and are completely missing the point of this school!"

"Which classes are those?" Minerva asked dangerously.

Umbridge either did not notice or did not care about the expression on the deputy headmistress's face because she plowed right along, "All classes relating to the casting of magic except Katherine and Serverus's classes."

Kate had never seen Minerva so offended, though she had not known her for a particularly long time.

"Excuse me?" She hissed.

Umbridge simpered a reply, "I observed students waving their wands in wild and uncontrolled manners in many classes, blowing things up and causing quite the ruckus. Personally, I was appalled at the disasters I saw and was treated poorly by numerous children who clearly had never been taught to respect their betters."

"Betters?" Pomona questioned, sounding rather insulted on her students' behalf.

"Yes, so the minister has signed a new educational decree, let me find it." She reached into her offensively pink handbag and pulled out an official looking piece of parchment and begins to read, "By order of the Ministry of Magic, Dolores Jane Umbridge has been granted the right to delegate House Points and assign detentions within Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, signed Cornelius Oswald Fudge."

Several professors exchanged looks as Umbridge read. This didn't bode well. Kate's mind dropped the Hogwarts Charter in favor of analyzing this new development. Obviously, this was pointed at Harry as he was the only one of the Ministry's targets this would affect.

There wasn't much she could do at the moment, except maybe get the detentions from Umbridge? She could offer to cover Umbridge's detentions or something.

"Very well." Albus conceded after a moment, "I will make an announcement tomorrow morning."

Umbridge gave a rather predatory smile. "Thank you, Headmaster."

"Anything else?" Charity Burbage prompted blandly.

Umbridge gave her a look of intense dislike that was quickly masked by a fake smile. "As a matter of fact, yes, there is. There is a distinct lack of focus on recognizing situations where magic can legally be used."

There was genuinely dumbfounded silence for a moment. "What?" Someone asked.

"Where _magic_ can be _legally_ used?" Someone else echoed.

"Hogwarts only until they are of age, and anywhere that does not compromise the Statue of Secrecy after that." Aurora said in confusion. "Everyone knows that."

"I mean with the _ministry_." Umbridge giggled, "It's almost like, well, it's absurd, surely, that this institution is training students to be independent or even opposing of the Ministry of Magic and it's minister."

"Isn't the point of school to teach students how to be independent adults?" Kate phrased it as a question but it most definitely wasn't.

"The point of school is to pass tests!" Umbridge snarled, losing her composure for the first time that night.

"Can we get to the reports?" Severus drawled.

Kate had started her dealings with Severus Snape with her defenses up, but slowly began to understand him. A little. He had a lot of skeletons in his proverbial closet, and was a bitter man lashing out at the world. He also, as a spy, had a cover to keep up. Naturally, Kate had made it her personal mission to make the somewhat-former-reformed now-death eater lighten up. It was slow progress but she had decided the best place to start was to befriend him as much as possible. And joke around. Under the guise of being most comfortable around someone closer to her age, of course.

"Individually, Severus and Katherine fared the best of all of the staff, surprising considering they are the two youngest professors." Umbridge said. "They both showed themselves quite capable of keeping their students under control and gave strong theoretical background as well."

Kate suppressed both a snort and a groan. Way to alienate her from the rest of the staff. That was probably the point.

"Though I think DADA could use more legal information instead of dueling? In fact I think you are an excellent teacher, but I do not believe _dueling strategies_ should be practiced in the classroom, especially with certain students."

Kate feigned innocence. "Oh? I think dueling is an integral part of defense, especially against the dark arts."

"Yes, well as a ministry certified educational expert, I would have to disagree." Umbridge simpered. "I do not believe you should have been personally teaching Potter how to duel."

Kate smiled, she had learned that they scored tests at the British ministry as soon as you finished. "Well as a fellow, British ministry educational expert, I would have to ask who you would rather Harry partner with?"

Umbridge gaped at her. She could also feel the rest of the staff staring holes in her back and side. Silence reigned for a moment before someone snorted. Suddenly the room was filled with chuckles and muffled laughter as everyone slowly realized how Kate had completely nullified Umbridge's "qualifications".

"I-I" Umbridge's face now matched her cardigan.

"I wanted to get some qualifications for teaching because, as you pointed out yourself, I am rather inexperienced in the teaching side of school." Kate said innocently.

"Yes well…" Umbridge grasped for something to say, "That is quite er-_admirable_, Professor."

Kate suppressed a smirk, "Thank you."

"Well, ah hem, I think that I need to conduct more inspections to, erm, get a better feel for all of the different classes, and I'll… leave the results of the first inspection in all of your offices…" Umbridge stood up abruptly and walked out, she most likely needed to re-evaluate her strategy.

A/N::: REVIEW!


	27. Chapter 27: Detention Plans

Chapter 27: Detention Plans

"Detention, Mr. Potter." A most obnoxious, simpering, voice declared, sounding positively delighted.

Harry turned around slowly to see his tormentor. Ever since she had gotten the ability to give detentions and take points, she had followed him around daily, trying to catch him breaking even the smallest of rules. He had done everything he could to not be caught so much as sneezing in an effort to appease Kate, who had told him, quite clearly, that she would be most upset if they had to blow her cover to save him from being expelled. He'd been annoyed at first, but understood her logic, beating Voldemort was way more important than giving Umbridge a piece of his mind. No matter how tempting both had found it.

He grimaced as he realized that she must have heard him swearing about Snape, "What for?" He asked, not able to keep the rudeness out of his voice.

"Speaking such foul words about a professor of this school!" Umbridge looked fat to smug. "I will let you know the time and place of your detention when I see fit." She waddled off.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed from behind him.

"What!?" Harry demanded, "How was I supposed to know she was there?"

"He's got a point, Hermione." Ron added, "Stupid toad face shouldn't have been eavesdropping anyway."

"She shouldn't even be here." Hermione pointed out tartly, "But now you know we have to tell K-...your sister." She said.

Harry groaned but nodded, "I'm never going to live this down." He said as they began walking. "The Rogues went full _years_ without ever being caught actually breaking a rule, and now here I am with a detention for calling Snape a greasy bat!"

Ron snorted, "It could be worse."

"How?" Harry demanded at the same time Hermione exclaimed, "Ron! Don't encourage him!"

Ron shrugged, "It could something embarrassing like-"

"Ronald Weasley-don't you finish that sentence!" Hermione exclaimed, scandalized.

Ron grinned, "I was going to say dress code infraction or something dumb like that...what were _you _thinking?"

Hermione blushed.

Harry laughed at them and they rounded another corner.

"What are we going to do about Hagrid?" Harry asked casually.

"What do you mean?" Ron sounded confused.

"Umbridge is practically stalking him!" Hermione exclaimed. "She is obviously trying to get him fired."

"Hagrid?" Ron pressed, "Why would she try to get _Hagrid _fired? He's the nicest bloke around!"

"Because he's loyal to Dumbledore, that's why." Harry said darkly.

"And she certainly seems the prejudiced type, doesn't she?" Hermione added thoughtfully, "He's half-giant, everyone knows that after last year."

Harry growled as he thought about Skeeter, it was people like her that gave Kenna a bad reputation. "Yeah. What did you do to her anyway?"

"You know people are starting to spend time in the DADA classroom outside of class to hang out with Kate?" Hermione asked quickly changing the subject.

"Nice try, Hermione, what did you do?" Harry was suspicious suddenly. "People like her don't just shut up."

"The Rogues all agree, or the ones I told anyway." Hermione said defensively. "But-It- well, I figured out that Rita Skeeter is an illegal animagus, a beetle. I've threatened to spill the beans if she writes another foul thing again."

Harry and Ron both laughed. "Th-that's _brilliant_, Hermione!" Ron gasped.

She gave them both a vicious and smug smirk, "Yes, well." She coughed, "But Harry, what do you think of so many people flocking to Professor Ross?"

Harry shrugged, torn between pride and annoyance. "It makes it hard to see her, with everyone else around, though she's a great person so I'm not surprised."

"Awww…. _thank you, _Harry!" A far too cheerful voice drawled, making them jump.

Harry looked to his right and saw his older sister, in jeans and a sweatshirt, ambling up to them.

"Hey, Professor." The Trio chorused, aware of the fact that they could be overheard.

"Let's go to my office." She suggested. Harry only then noticed the books tucked in her arms and gave her a questioning look but didn't comment.

It wasn't until they settled in Kate's office that Harry brought up the reason for the visit. "Toad-face gave me detention."

"What for?" Kate asked, unsurprised.

"Insulting Snape." Harry shrugged.

Kate snorted. Her brown hair seemed to turn gold under the sunlight peeking through the curtains when she turned her head to look at the wall behind Harry and his friends. She stayed silent for a moment. "How many other students got detentions, that you know of?"

Harry shrugged feeling like he'd let her down somehow. "I don't know."

"Hermione?" Kate asked, shifting her attention.

"Quite a few, I would imagine." Hermione answered.

"Hmm." Suddenly Harry caught her eye and realized they were shining.

"What are you planning?" He asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." She said innocently, "I volunteered to handle all of Umbridge's detentions though. I think she took it as an olive branch from me. With all of the detentions I will be overseeing, we will use yours to practice dueling. I think I am about to lose a lot of free time."

Harry roared with laughter. "T-that's brilliant!"

Ron and Hermione also laughed at Kate's time management.

"I'm glad you think so, little brother." Kate smirked, "Now with all of this time I'll be spending in detention for you lot, I won't have as much time to teach everyone how to survive. I'll need you three to do it."

Harry blinked, "What?"

"Are you sure about this Kate?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Kate nodded, "Build that army Fudge fears. It's why I let all your classmates hang out in my classroom in the first place." She added.

"...we don't have a choice, do we?"

"Nope!" Kate beamed. "Now, let's discuss countering the most common dark curses."

"...urgh."

"Yes!"

"Ron, cheer up!" Kate grinned, summoning several books from the shelves around her office. "The most common spells can be deflected with a basic shield charm, the ones you are taught in school, and such. The only way a shield charm would fail in those cases would be if the spell was so overpowered that it simply overwhelmed the magic in the shield, which could happen if you left a shield up for long enough without feeding more magic into it. The same goes for reflective shields, which rebound off the shield and can be aimed at opponents if you know what you are doing."

"What about other spells?" Hermione asked, writing on a notebook she had with her.

"Well obviously the safest thing to do would be to dodge or summon something to intercept the spell, but summoning things requires control and precision. Therefore it is difficult to learn and execute in a duel, especially with smaller objects, which are easier to summon, but harder to aim." Kate explained, "Some spells, especially dark ones, have specific counter curses or potions that must be applied to undo the effects before they become fatal or permanent. These spells are usually broken into categories based on effects and power level, with each category requiring a specific shield."

"How are we going to defend ourselves if we don't know _every counter in existence_?"

"Today we are going to work on summoning because it is the most practical and useful considering I don't have enough time to teach you every counter like I will begin to do in class."

_**LATER THAT DAY WITH KATE**_

Kate tried to hide her annoyance as dinner wore on for seemingly an eternity. Dolores, who has already assigned no less than 19 detentions, today alone, seven of which went to Harry specifically (he had gotten more that very afternoon apparently), was prattling happily to her as if she was Kate's favorite aunt. Kiss up.

Umbridge wanted allies in the castle and was hoping Kate, Filch, and Severus would be willing. Unfortunately, Kate needed to keep the peace with Umbridge intact in order for her to move with maximum freedom right now. Eventually she would have to pick a side, probably with the rest of the staff against the ministry toady, but for now, she could pass under the radar as simply settling in.

She figured Severus would be the other logical choice for Umbridge, even now it was obvious he was the odd one out on the staff, which also seemed to have it's own friend groups. Minerva, Poppy, Rolanda, and Albus seemed to be one group, while Filius, Hagrid, and Pomona were obviously good friends and the two groups were rather close themselves. Charity, Septima, Bathsheda, and Aurora made another group. Argus and Irma seemed to be friendly as well. Only Trelawney, Kate and Severus seemed to be outsiders, though Kate suspected that Severus normally was most friendly with Minerva and Albus, but was not this year because of outside threats. However, this was only speculation, albeit educated speculation.

"Kate, dear," Umbridge simpered again as Kate swallowed some bile that rose in her mouth.

"Yes, Dolores?" Kate forced out. The things she did for Harry.

"Wouldn't you agree that there should be standards to which both students and professors are to adhere to outside of school as well as inside?"

"I suppose it would depend." Kate said carefully, "You shouldn't infringe on anyone's rights as private citizens."

"Well," Umbridge coughed, face momentarily flashing in annoyance before going back to sugary fake pleasantness, "sacrifices must be made for the good of all."

"They aren't sacrifices if they are forced on someone." Kate retorted forcing her own calm. "But then again, I am particularly attached to my freedom."

"Understandable given where you come from, I'm sure."

"I've been to a lot of places in the last couple of years," Kate shrugged, "and everyone I've met, with few exceptions, valued their freedom."

"But freedom isn't free." Umbridge smiled hideously, "Isn't that a common saying in your country?"

"Yes." Kate acknowledged, "But I'm pretty sure they don't mean to give up freedom as a price for freedom. It is counter-productive, is it not?"

Umbridge's smile faded slightly, "You are entitled to your own opinions."

Kate swallowed a particularly vicious retort and instead nodded gracefully, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some grading to get done."

She stood and walked away without a glance backward, though she could feel more than one set of eyes following her from the staff table. She couldn't bring herself to care as she instead allowed her thoughts to shift towards a more pressing matter: Harry. Or rather the Horcrux lodged in his head. She had been putting off researching into it more herself for several reasons, which all amounted to nothing compared to the potential consequences of her continued laziness, cowardice, whatever you want to call it. So today she had resolved to crack open the literal wardrobe full of information gathered by various Rogues, Drake and herself on the topic.

She knew a bit about soul magic from her mastery, curses could and often were attached to specific souls, as were wards, in fact, that and blood curses either attached to a bloodline or infecting the bloodline were among the most common in ancient times. Now everything was attached to places, not people. But that was neither here nor there. The Horcrux was attached to his soul, and his scar was but a physical representation of that, the X on the map as to where the treasure is. If they could somehow destroy that tether (not necessarily the scar), the piece of Voldemort's soul would either dissipate and die, or try to merge with Harry's, which would not have as many bad side effects as one would think. But Mrs. Potter's protection had ensured that her son's soul could never be overtaken by Voldemort's Horcrux and also ensured that the souls could never merge. So Voldemort's piece would die. The main question was simple, how to destroy the tether without killing Harry in the process? Common sense says attack the scar, but they couldn't exactly stab Harry's forehead with a basilisk fang. That would be bad and he didn't need another basilisk related story, one was far too many.

She growled as she thought about the sheer recklessness of her current colleagues when it came to the safety of her little brother. It was appalling, and she couldn't help but hold it against them. Maybe that's why she hadn't tried to integrate with any of the professors', well, cliques was the best word, but it seemed far too juvenile for a group of people whose average age was probably over 60. She also briefly considered that she was rather introverted when not with The Rogues… but that was because she was slightly awkward in casual settings, among peers, that is, thanks, no doubt, to only hanging out with The Rogues, when she was not training with Drake or dueling as a kid. No use crying over spilled milk, she supposed.

Especially when in the place of small talk she got the ability to take a crack at saving her younger brother's life. She gnashed her teeth together, as if she was getting frustrated with a duel, and yanked open the wardrobe of Horcrux information with more force than necessary.

Her breath came out in jerky rushes as she read Drake's notes on his meetings with various people known to be knowledgeable in soul magic and dark magic in general. They all basically said the same thing though, they had never heard of someone dumb enough to make a human horcrux, or indeed a horcrux, but that as far as they know the only ways to destroy a horcrux would kill the person too. Unless there was something preventing the person from dying. But then the horcrux would also survive because the person needs to die for the horcrux to die. Thus, Kate needed to figure out how to sever the connection and then deal with the soul shard. Dealing with the shard, again, would be easy once it was detached. It was detaching it.

Unfortunately, souls were not the most studied or easiest things to study in the world, not at all. She sighed as she began to sift through the history and evolution of the Horcrux, hoping for an idea or even reference to live horcruxes or something else that would give her inspiration for Harry. Looking up over the first manuscript from Herpo the Foul, Kate couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed at the amount of research she would be doing on top of being a full-time professor, yet another part of her felt like she didn't have enough information. Only one way to find out, she supposed.

_**SAME TIME GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM**_

"You're going to be missing practice? _All week_!?" Angelina Johnson demanded the moment she had seen him enter the common room. Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell were right behind her.

Harry blinked in surprise, "How'd you know I got detention?"

The Gryffindor Quidditch Captain rolled her eyes, "_Everyone_ knows."

"Oh." Harry glanced around and noticed that not only was he cornered, but Ron and Hermione had also left him. Traitors. "Hey, guys," Harry said suddenly, getting an idea, "I heard Professor Ross was covering all of Umbridge's detentions."

"I hadn't heard that." Angelina said sharply, "You don't think she'd let you come to practice do you?"

"No, no!" Harry exclaimed, "I think she's too new to be taking that kind of risk against Umbridge even if she wanted to, but, well, she's been giving a lot of extra lessons. You know, how to fight and survive and really defend yourself against what's out there, not just school stuff."

"So?" She asked waspishly, "What does that have to do with everything?"

"Well," Harry said quickly, "Umbridge has been handing out detentions like candy, that's what Ross said. I was wondering if you guys would, I dunno, be interested in starting like a DADA club of sorts-to practice for OWLs and NEWTs and to oppose Umbridge. She really seems to be against everyone getting an education. You've seen the way she's gone after the other professors."

"That's an interesting idea, Potter." Alicia said. "Why did you think of this now, though?"

"Well-" Harry flushed slightly, "I mean, Hermione thought it'd be a good idea, and Professor Ross said it would help pick up the slack she was about to drop, so…"

"Who would teach it though?" Katie asked, also sounding interested, "And who would be in it?"

"Isn't that-"

"Obvious?" Another set of voices cut in. Harry looked to his right and saw Fred and George peering at him intently. "This almost sounds-"

"Like an act of rebellion of sorts-"

"Against Umbridge and Harrikins here-"

"would be the perfect teacher!" They finished together.

Harry nodded his agreement, "I was thinking it could just be some people we trusted, you know, like Ron and Hermione and Ginny, maybe some people outside Gryffindor too, ones who hate Umbridge."

"Not bad, Harry." Angelina nodded, "I'm in."

The other four nodded as well, "When's our first meeting?" Katie asked.

"Um, this weekend, at the new restaurant in Hogsmeade I heard about, Rogue's Rendezvous, at say-4:00."

"See you then mate." Fred or George grinned.

"And in the meantime," Harry said, "Try to spread the word, but only to those you can trust for sure."

All four nodded and dispersed, while Harry went to tell Ron and Hermione what he'd done.

_**THE NEXT DAY, 6TH YEAR DADA**_

"I have an additional announcement to make!" Kate said loudly as she looked at all of the students around the classroom, wondering how many could be trusted to keep this quiet if she told them straight up what she was planning.

Fortunately, she had an excuse prepared that would get them all interested anyway. "I highly recommend you all come to the Three Broomsticks this Hogsmeade weekend on Saturday at around 10:00 in the morning." She told them. "A ministry official, the same ones that administer OWLs and NEWTs, will be administering a ministry general knowledge test that not only will give you an additional credential if you pass but can also serve as a bit of a practice test for both OWLs and NEWTs, due to its similar theoretical format. It will only take about an hour to complete and is definitely worth it if you want to practice or get a leg up for your NEWTs and even future careers. The advantage is that if you fail it is no big deal as the results of the test are not made public. I will also be paying the fee for any student who sits the test myself, as well as offering them extra credit in this class, regardless of your results. I really encourage you all to come, and bring friends, even if they aren't in DADA, again, it is magical general knowledge, geared towards education. The only restriction is that it is for fourth years and up."

What she didn't say was that it was the Ministry Educational Expertise Accreditation test and she was giving it out to mess with Umbridge. She had told Harry, Ron and Hermione, of course, but they were the only ones that she told. She knew that Ravenclaws, Slytherins, and Hufflepuffs would be the most inclined to go and expected most to show up. The Gryffindors would need persuading though, and that was why she had told her brother to quietly tell people like the twins what the test actually was and how they could use it against the ever more hated High Inquisitor. The real challenge was keeping the rest of the staff ignorant, which had required her to put up some misdirection spells between castle residents under and over the age of 25, as she was the only professor under 35.

She was also aware of the meeting Harry and his friends were holding at Tiff's place that afternoon and was careful to keep the two events far enough apart that students did not feel a need to choose between the two, but rather would have plenty of time for everything. She also wanted to keep any extra attention away from where Harry's meeting would be, just in case. In the meantime, she had more research on horcruxes to do.

AN::::: I'm sorry this is sort of late...but please REVIEW anyway!


	28. Chapter 28: The First Hogsmeade Weekend

Chapter 28: The First Hogsmeade Weekend

_**THREE BROOMSTICKS, SATURDAY 9:30AM**_

Kate fidgeted slightly as she watched Madam Marchbanks set up the tables for the exam. She wasn't nervous about students passing so much as she was that the whole thing went off without a hitch. Preferably without anyone finding out, and with certain students she knew would abuse this extra title remembering to show up (mainly the Weasley Twins). It also bothered her, as with any obsession she picked up, that she wasn't working on Harry's situation, which she felt a strong urge to spend every one of her waking hours thinking about or studying further.

It seemed like no time at all before students began filing in, Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe of Ravenclaw, Anthony Rickett, Herbert Fleet, and Tasim Applebee of Hufflepuff, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Fred and George, and numerous others flitted in. All of the Slytherins entered as a unit, comprising of nearly every student, with the notable exceptions of Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Millicent Bulstrode, and Graham Montague. Even Draco Malfoy sat in a corner, sneering at everyone not in his house, lounging like a king amongst his housemates. Kate hid a smile as she saw Daphne Greengrass and Tracy Davis sneering at Malfoy, while most of the Gryffindors didn't notice the blond, the Ravenclaws didn't care, and the Hufflepuffs were somewhere in the middle of the two. Kate was also pleased to note that, upon entering, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan made a beeline for Harry, Ron and Hermione, where they sat with Neville Longbottom, though Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were not even in attendance. No surprises there, she admitted to herself. Fred and George's presence seemed to shock the whole room however, as they flirted shamelessly with the three Gryffindor Quidditch chasers with Lee Jordan. Keneth Towler, the other Gryffindor boy in their year, was speaking to Roger Davis, Tracy Davis's older brother. Even Ginny Weasley had found a crowd to sit with in Luna Lovegood, Colin Creevy, Micheal Corner, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein. Kate figured someone had to be dating someone, probably Ginny and one of the Ravenclaw boys, in order for that group to be connected. The room was buzzing with other students as well, whom Kate didn't know well enough yet to have an idea on what behavior was strange and what wasn't though she watched them all anyway.

The thing that triggered her big sister alert, however, was when Cho Chang engaged Harry in a conversation, during which both floundered awkwardly for something to say. She had to take a walk to stop laughing at how oblivious her brother was sometimes, both to his feelings and others' feelings. She'd have to pull him aside, soon. But at least that explained the odd letter she'd received from Kenna awhile back, which had mentioned Harry needing some non-family advice. She shook her head. Eventually that boy would learn that sisters were the best people to ask for girlfriend advice, or potential girlfriend as the case may be.

Kate's re-entrance was only a few minutes before the exam was set to start and she was happy with the group of students that had shown up. Madam Marchbanks entered after a few moments, and a hush fell over the group as people began to notice her.

Marchbanks seemed surprised at the number of students as she cleared her throat and began speaking, "Welcome to the General Magical Studies British Ministry Educational Expertise Examination, everyone. This exam will determine your qualifications in the field of magical education, as prescribed by the British Ministry of Magic. Should you succeed in passing the exam today, you will officially be awarded the title of Ministry Approved Educational Expert. You should all receive owls with your results in two weeks time, at the latest. Professor Ross has agreed to cover the examination fees of every student here today as well as assist in proctoring the exam as a Ministry Approved Educational Expert herself."

Kate smiled widely as several students' eyes went wide as Marchbanks gave her speech, leading her to believe that at least a few of them recognized the title being thrown around as one of the High Inquisitor's favorite lines against both students and staff alike. The Rogues that were Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all grinning ear to ear while Fred and George looked positively dangerous, but they were not the only ones, Draco Malfoy looked positively smug, while many other students were exchanging looks of glee.

In short order the testing booklets and answer sheets had been passed around, as well as quills and ink, and the sound of scratching filled the room as Kate and Marchbanks prowled around. Looking over the shoulder of the various students as they answered questions, Kate was confident that the results would be very much to her liking and the 2,000 Galleons she would be dropping would be well spent.

And she could spend the rest of the day locked up in her room working on Harry's situation.

_**THAT AFTERNOON AT TIFF'S RESTAURANT**_

Harry gained an incredible amount of street credit with the other Gryffindors whom he had convinced to take Professor Ross's "ministry practice exam" after they found out exactly what they would be taking. Fred and George, who had told him that he owed them big time, were now convinced that it was the other way around because of how much they could use this against everyone of their professors, but most especially Umbridge ...assuming they passed, of course.

The time before the DADA club meeting was spent wandering the village with Ron and Hermione. They visited Honeydukes, Zonko's, Scrivenshaft's, and the Shrieking Shack before visiting Tiff for a late lunch and going to the room where the meeting was scheduled to happen so they could set up. At 10 minutes to 4:00, Hermione went to the main part of the restaurant to show the new recruits where to go.

As they started filling in, Harry couldn't help his surprise at what Hermione had said this morning should be a couple of people. Well a large class would have been more accurate.

Indeed, first to enter was the full force of Harry's year mates from Gryffindor, and Parvati's sister, Padma. They were then followed by many of Padma's friends in Ravenclaw as well as a few people Harry only vaguely recognized from different years in Ravenclaw. Ginny entered with the Creevy Brothers and three Ravenclaw boys, Micheal Corner, Terry Boot, and Anthony Goldstein. Luna Lovegood had such a spaced out look on her face that Harry half wondered if she hadn't entered by accident, though the cheery, trouble maker looks on Fred, George, and Lee Jordan's face suggested their presence was no accident, as the Gryffindor Chasers followed them in. Several Hufflepuffs, the ones who had been suspicious of Harry in his second year and then apologized later, had also come to the meeting with several people Harry knew to be on their Quidditch team. Harry's stomach flipped when he saw Cho enter with one of her friends, who he barely registered as not looking terribly happy to be there. His nerves at Cho's entrance was quickly replaced by shock at the last additions to the group, several Slytherins who Harry recognized as Daphne Greengrass, her younger sister, Tracy Davis, Blaise Zabini, and Adrian Pucey.

Their entrance caused a silence to fall rather quickly.

"What are slimy Slytherins doing here?" Someone asked loudly. All Harry managed to register was that it was a bloke who asked.

Harry could honestly say he hadn't a clue. "Um, well," He floundered looking at the group, that stared at him with both defensiveness and defiance in their gazes. "We invited people who we thought were trustworthy." He said at last, aware that the only way they would have known about this meeting was through one of his teammates, Ron or Hermione, or Kate. And it was probably Kate, which meant they were there for a reason, one he would have to get from her later, but for right now, he decided to trust her. "Why don't you guys take a seat?" He looked towards the Slytherins, who hadn't said anything but did not seem too hostile.

They sat and slowly conversation resumed again and went uninterrupted until Hermione rejoined the group and the meeting started in earnest.

"I thought you said that there were only a couple of people!?" Harry hissed at his friend.

Hermione shrugged unrepentantly. "Well, a lot of people liked Professor Ross's lessons, though I don't know who invited the Slytherins."

"Kate probably." Harry muttered before turning to the room at large. "Hi!" He called, suppressing his nerves with occlumency. "As you might know, Professor Ross is taking all of Umbridge's-" There were a few boos at the name, "detentions, which means that she won't have time to help us catch up with everything we've missed between Lockhart and Quirrell and everyone else."

There were a few nods of agreement and a "hear, hear!" from Ernie Macmillian.

"But this is more important than OWLs or NEWTs." Harry continued boldly, "This is also about being ready to defend ourselves against Voldemort and his death eaters."

Predictably, there were gasps of shock as several people fell out of their chairs or spilled the butterbeers that Tiff had provided. Silence reigned as Harry waited for a response.

"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" A boy, a blonde Hufflepuff asked rather rudely. "You say he's back and Dumbledore believes you, but that doesn't prove anything- and don't you think we have a right to see some proof?"

"Who are _you_?" Ron demanded.

"Zacharias Smith." The boy said, sounding far too proud of himself, especially considering what Harry and the other Rogues had accomplished by his age.

"That's not really what this meeting is about-" Hermione intervened quickly.

"It is though, isn't it?" Harry asked shrewdly, "You, all of you, want to know if I've gone round the bend."

Smith met his gaze unflinchingly, "Yes, if we're supposed to train to fight with you, then shouldn't we get to know what makes you say _he_ is back?"

"I saw him. Myself. At the end of the Third Task, he got one of his death eaters to kill Cedric and then resurrected himself using my blood." He pulled his sleeve back to show the room the fading scar where Wormtail had cut him last year. "Dumbledore told you all what happened last year, if you don't believe him you might as well clear out because I'm not going to waste another second trying to convince you, I have no desire to talk about Cedric Diggory anymore, and I'm sure as hell not going to tell you what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone." Harry was panting heavily, face flushed and standing by the time his tirade was over. He stared around for a second at the gapping faces in front of him before sitting down abruptly.

Nobody moved an inch, not even Smith, they just stared at Harry and he back at them, until Hermione cleared her throat, "Right, we are here to learn DADA, in conjunction with Professor Ross's class, I think we should discuss meeting times and places-"

"Is it true you can produce a corporeal Patronus?" Another Hufflepuff asked, interrupting Hermione.

Harry didn't recognize the girl at all, but she stared at him intently while murmurs of interest went around the room.

"Yes." He said, "A stag. How'd you know that?"

"My auntie is Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, I'm Susan Bones." She said, "I heard that when they were investigating Sirius Black's escape from Hogwarts, two years ago."

Harry blinked and filed that away for later. "Right." He muttered.

"Did you really kill a basilisk with the sword in Dumbledore's office?" Terry Boot asked excitedly, "That's what a portrait told me last year."

"Yeah, I did." Harry admitted.

"And he saved that Sorcerer's stone in our first year." Neville added.

"And all the tasks he completed last year in the tournament." Cho Chang said with a small smile towards Harry, which sent butterflies fluttering through his stomach again.

"It's not that simple!" Harry exclaimed in frustration, "I had help and loads of luck to do all of that...I'd have never survived any of that without help from just about everyone!" He said, thinking back to everything everyone had done to help him along the way. Hell, he wouldn't have even made it to Hogwarts without Kate and Jamie, in particular.

"You didn't always have help, Harry, you still did all of that yourself." Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's not right to say that I did it alone." He retorted.

"Nobody wins without help, mate." Ron said quietly, "Even Dumbledore had help when he defeated Grindelwald and Ross had help when she defeated Samhain and all those other guys from all those other places. It's not like they charged in by themselves."

"Ron's right, Harry." Hermione said firmly. "Now, I think we've all agreed that Harry can teach us to defend ourselves?"

A chorus of agreements followed that pronouncement and not too long after, everyone had signed a parchment and agreed to call the club, at Ginny's suggestion, Dumbledore's Army because Umbridge would be most horrified by that name and Ross wouldn't care.

Harry couldn't wait to gloat about his success to his sister.

_**GRYFFINDOR 5TH YEAR DORM THE NEXT MORNING**_

Harry was brooding over Kate's absence the previous day after dinner, when he'd wanted to tell her about the newly formed DA and get advice on where they could meet to practice, since she would need her classroom for detentions. He had also wanted her help in developing a plan for what he could and should teach, as well as shamelessly using the club as an excuse to get more dueling tips and spells out of his sister, who seemed reluctant to truly get to the darker side of magic with him. She seemed, in fact, totally happy to stay with the basics in practical lessons and only delve into advanced stuff in theory only. But either way, it wouldn't have bothered him much if he'd gotten a chance to complain about it to her directly, like he normally could at any time of day. Except yesterday, apparently, when she _knew_ he'd want to talk after the DA meeting. She knew him well enough to know that. He rolled onto his stomach and missed hearing the door open. He also wanted to know why she'd invited Slytherins to a meeting she wasn't even really involved in anymore.

"Harry, get over here!" A voice called to him, making him jerk up, out of his reverie.

"What's up?" He asked Ron, who was looking at him oddly from the entrance to their dorm room.

"Come down to the common room, you won't believe it!" The redhead exclaimed, shaking his strange expression in favor of flushing red.

Harry rolled off his bed and made his way to the door in two strides, his friend already leading the way down. Upon entering the common room, it wasn't hard to find what Ron was talking about as it seemed as if the entire house was crowded around the bulletin board, muttering and-well-_swearing_ to each other. Harry quickly attempted to squeeze his way to the front. After several minutes of jockeying, jerking, and shoving, Harry emerged in front of the crowd and saw a large notice covering most of the board. It read:

_**By Order of the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts:**_

_All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting between three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge) or an approved Professor (Professor Ross and Professor Snape). No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor or an approved Professor. Any Student found to have formed or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved will be expelled._

_The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four._

_Signed,_

_**Dolores Jane Umbridge**_

_**High Inquisitor**_

"Do you think they're going to shut down the Gobstones Club?" A second year asked worriedly from next to Harry.

"You'll be fine with the Gobstones Club." Ron, who had followed Harry to the front, said darkly. "Though I doubt we'll be as lucky."

Harry's hands formed fists as he felt rage building inside of him, "This can't be a coincidence." He ground out, "She knows. Somehow she found out." Any excitement he'd felt at defying Umbridge was gone in the wake of this decree.

"We could always ask Snape." Ron said blandly, re-reading the decree.

Harry snorted, but his resolve hardened inside, "We're going to do it anyway." He said bluntly.

Ron blinked, "You sure, mate, I mean, I'm all for it, but we could be expelled. I mean, I'm not sure how many people would still want to do this and- well, our meeting was really secure, which means we've been betrayed, somehow. The Slytherins probably did it, or maybe that Smith guy, he was an arse, for starters."

Frustration bubbled as Harry shook his head, "That doesn't matter, mate." He said, a grin splitting his face as he considered the decree, "Especially 'cause we'll _have _permission."

"You think the pink toad would give us permission? Because it'll be a cold day in hell before Snape does."

"No." Harry smirked, all annoyance with his sister gone as he suddenly had a suspicion as to where she might have been yesterday. He felt stupid for doubting her, but shook that off as he looked Ron in the face, "But Professor Ross will."

_**LATER THAT DAY**_

Harry was shovelling food as fast as he could at breakfast, determined to wait and catch Kate on her way out of the hall, while Ron and Hermione tried to signal to various DA members that they couldn't crowd around the Gryffindor table because it would give them away to Umbridge.

"Not - right - _now!_" Hermione hissed in a strange shouted whisper, frantically gesturing toward the Hufflepuff table.

Ron was similarly shaking his head, and looking quite mad, as he tried to wordlessly shoo the Ravenclaws away and tell the Gryffindors that they would meet later.

As soon as Hermione had come into the common room that morning, Harry and Ron had explained the new educational decree to Hermione, who had liked Harry's plan as soon as she heard it. This allowed their conversation to turn from what they would do, to how Umbridge could have found out about their club. Hermione assured them that no-one had betrayed them because it would "be really obvious" who did it. This was when she informed them that Kate had taught her how to enchant parchment into a binding contract with actual repercussions. Both had gaped at her before declaring her a genius. Her smirk was the last thing before they went to breakfast and had to stop the various members of the newly dubbed DA from creating a scene.

Now, Harry was done with breakfast and watching Kate like a hawk. Or a little brother on a mission.

Ron and Hermione had both joined him without quite knowing what he wanted.

"Harry, why are we staring at Professor Ross?" Hermione asked him.

"I want to talk to her after breakfast and I don't want to miss her." He said bluntly, his eyes never wavering.

As if sensing his eyes, Kate looked up and made eye contact. She winked and went back to her food. Harry growled with impatience, "C'mon!" He whined quietly.

She seemed to be moving slower. And slower.

After an eternity, she pushed her plate forward, took a swig of her drink, and wiped her mouth, seemingly finished with her breakfast.

And promptly engaged Professor McGonagall in conversation.

Damn her. She was doing this on purpose.

Harry decided to wait in her office and got up, barely telling his friends before he stalked out, annoyance flaring. Perhaps the most infuriating part of the whole thing, he thought as he stalked through the corridors, Hermione and Ron's hurried footsteps behind him, was that Kate would probably somehow beat him to her office and tease him about barging into his teachers offices and what their mother would think.

He decided to pre-empt her and knock. Sure enough, a soft "come in" was heard a moment later. He walked in, rant about what an insufferable git she was bubbling, only to be stopped short by another presence in her office. He had only gotten a "You-!" out before he registered Professor Snape speaking to his sister, who was standing behind her desk.

Snape whirled around and his eyes narrowed, "Potter! How so very typical of you to barge into a professor's office so rudely as if you are the king and everyone else is beneath you. Twenty points from Gryffindor."

Harry glared furiously at him and looked to his sister to defend him. She gave him a withering look, but there was anger in her eyes as she regarded Snape's back. Harry forced down a victorious smile as Kate cleared her throat.

"Thank you, Severus, but I do not believe that was necessary, for all we know, Harry could have finished that sentence 'You have a spider on your cheek.' which would be more than acceptable. It is unfair to assume Harry, who as far as I can tell does not think anyone beneath him, quite the opposite, actually, had anything malicious, rude or inappropriate to say." Kate said politely, "Twenty points _to _Gryffindor, Harry, for allowing a professor to handle a situation for you."

Harry knew Kate wouldn't appreciate a smirk, she was unfortunately like the other professors in that regard, so he nodded instead and prayed Ron and Hermione would do the same.

"Now, what is it you would like to tell me?" She asked.

"I-well we wanted to speak with you. In private." Harry said, trying to ignore Snape.

Kate sighed slightly, "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be available until after dinner tonight, unless it's an emergency, it will have to wait until then."

Harry frowned at her, "Fine, Professor." He said curtly before turning on heel and stalking out, neither Ron or Hermione uttering a word as they followed him.

He was ashamed to admit that he was upset she wasn't dropping everything to help him, like she always had before, but his pride refused to let him really ponder it as some frustration began to bubble within him. He was angry with Kate Ross for the first time, maybe ever.

AN::: I'm really sorry I'm late on this...I was struggling with a serious lack or inspiration on what to write but I also wanted to move the plot forward... needless to say I had a brain wave this afternoon so here it is... please REVIEW!


	29. Chapter 29: The Search

Chapter 29: The Search

"Potter, a word." A sharp voice cut across Harry's conversation with Hermione at dinner. They were discussing meeting places for the newly dubbed DA and both of them snapped their heads up to see Angelina Johnson looming over them looming furious.

"Did you know Umbridge is including quidditch in her ban?" She demanded.

"What?" Harry asked blankly.

"Her educational decree." Angelina said, "It says teams on the list of banned student organizations."

"WHAT!?" Harry's mouth dropped open in horror. "How do you know-I mean she _can't_… right?"

"Apparently she can." Angelina said curtly, "I just found out from Roger Davis, the Ravenclaw captain."

Harry was appalled to say the least, "What are we going to do?"

"I have to ask her for permission to re-form the team, but that means you _can't_ antagonize Umbridge." Angelina said desperately, looking like she was now on the verge of tears.

"Okay, okay, I'll behave." He promised her.

"You better." She said grimly before stalking down the table.

"You think she'll be inspecting classes again?" Harry asked Hermione after Angelina left.

"Probably." Hermione answered, "If they are going to try to destroy Dumbledore and silence you, then they'll have to get rid of some of the teachers too."

"Let's go find Ron, then. It would be rich if we showed up to a class she was in unprepared." Harry said, knowing Umbridge would jump on any opportunity to make him look bad or get him in trouble.

_**MONDAY DURING DINNER IN THE GREAT HALL**_

"Can you _believe _Fred and George are actually selling those things? And they even admitted that they aren't completed!" Hermione railed to Harry and Ron. "We need to stop them! We are the _prefects_, Ron!"

"I thought we said we weren't going to interfere." Harry said in exasperation.

"We _weren't_ but they are selling untested boxes! Someone is going to get hurt!" Hermione insisted.

"Yeah, _me _if I try to stop them." Ron muttered, louder and to Hermione, he said, "It'll be fine, Hermione, they told everyone the snackboxes weren't finished."

"That's not the point!" Hermione retorted.

"Again," Harry cut in, "I think we can be a little more _rogue _this year."

Hermione opened and closed her mouth, but didn't have time to formulate more of a response.

"Potter, Weasley." A flustered and desperate sounding voice called his name for the second time in as many days. A tall, dark skinned and dark haired girl hurried up to their spot at the Gryffindor table.

"Angelina, what's wrong?" Harry asked her.

"That-that- _Umbridge_ isn't letting the team reform." She said furiously.

"WHAT!?" Both Harry and Ron exploded.

"What do you mean, not letting the team reform?" Ron demanded.

"She can't just do that!" Harry exclaimed suddenly furious himself.

"Well, she didn't say no outright, she said that she has to _think about it._" Angelina clarified, "Which is basically the same thing."

Harry grunted. "What are we going to do?" He asked her.

"I'm going to tell McGonagall." Angelina said, "She won't let her get away with this."

Harry nodded his agreement, though stern, Professor McGonagall was both fair and quidditch obsessed. "Good idea." He, too, got an idea. "I'll ask Professor Ross as well, she seems like she'd help us."

"You do that." Angelina said firmly, "When can you see her next?"

"I have detention with her at 7." He said sheepishly, "Umbridge gave _her_ the detention she gave me."

"Excellent." Angelina said, not seeming to care that she'd just praised Harry for getting a detention. "Wait, don't you need to leave now?"

Harry looked at his watch before making an exclamation of surprise, "Shit-yes, I do. Thanks Angelina, I'll see you all later!" With that he dashed out of the hall and sprinted up the grand staircase. It was, afterall, 7:09.

He burst into the DADA classroom, his ire with Kate from the weekend all but forgotten despite her evasiveness in class earlier that day.

"You're late." Kate said breezily, "Did you get distracted by Cho Chang on the way or something?"

Harry blushed furiously and glared at her, "Kate!" He exclaimed in embarrassment before recovering enough to feign confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Your very obvious crush." She smirked, "By the way, I think it's a bad idea. Cho isn't very stable right now. But no, it's not obvious you like her, I only know because I'm your older sister."

Harry blinked as he processed everything she'd just said. "It's not a bad idea!" He defended himself.

"You want to date Cedric Diggory's ex-girlfriend? The one he was dating before he died?" She asked, gently dubious.

Harry winced and stared at her searchingly for a moment. "You really think it's a bad idea?"

"Yes." She said bluntly, "Trust me, those types of relationships never work out."

Harry could think of several of Kate's ex-boyfriends, but none of them were anywhere near the situation he was in now. He'd hated all of them just the same.

"It's important to remember, dating can literally only end with either a break up, death, or marriage." Kate adopted a mock lecture tone.

Harry snorted, but would be lying if he'd said he had ever thought of it like that before. He nodded wordlessly, before he remembered his conversation with Angelina, "Can you give the Gryffindor Quidditch team permission to reform? Umbridge is refusing."

Kate paused, "No." She said and then shot Harry a look to silence him, "I promised to send her a list of every club I give permission to reform, if I give the Gryffindor Team permission to reform, then she will probably think I am undermining her and not let me take your detentions."

"You already are undermining her." Harry retorted, "And you are going to give the DA permission to form, aren't you?"

She quirked an eyebrow, "DA?"

"Dumbledore's Army, the name of the DADA club." Harry clarified.

"Yes, but that is a secret organization, so if I happen to forget it in the multitude of other clubs I am giving permission to, it won't be noticed. And I do seem to be the most approachable out of Snape, Umbridge, and I."

Harry snorted. "She didn't, by any chance, tell you why she made the decree, did she?"

"She found out about the test I administered, though she doesn't know I administered it, so she made it. Your meeting was not discovered." Kate assured him.

"That's good." Harry said, a weight coming off his shoulders. "You know she's trying to stop you from teaching DADA by letting you take all of her detentions?" He asked, "At least that's what Hermione thinks."

"Hermione is rather smart." Kate said blandly, "But Umbridge is not more cunning than I. I need to teach you privately and this is truly going to be an easy excuse. Plus, eventually she will realize I am not on her side and may succeed in firing me, in which case the DA will still ensure DADA is still being taught at this school, despite her best efforts."

Harry's mouth opened and closed several times as he appreciated his sister's ability to always have a plan and be several steps ahead of everyone. "Well…"

She smiled at him, "Shall we get to work? Or is there anything else you wish to know?"

"Where have you been the last few days?" Harry blurted out, suddenly suspicious of what she could have been up to.

Kate, on the other hand, was not ready to discuss the horcrux in Harry's scar with him yet, so instead threw something else she had given thought to finding, in hopes of going after Umbridge.

"Researching. What do you know about the Hogwarts Charter?" She asked him, a wicked grin on her face.

"The Hogwarts Charter?" Harry repeated.

"Yes, the contract between the founders and the wizarding government at the time that formally established Hogwarts as a school." Kate explained.

"Nothing, should I?" Harry answered, wondering if he was going to regret his curiosity.

"Maybe." She said thoughtfully, "Either way, it is like a constitution for Hogwarts, and defines how much the ministry is allowed to interfere and who should be in charge of the school besides the Headmaster."

"You mean like the Board of Governors?" Harry asked.

"No." Kate smirked, "They were only established by the ministry in its absence."

"Oh. Why do you want it?" Harry asked, "Do you think it could be a horcrux?"

She shook her head, "I doubt it, but it might be able to help us get rid of Umbridge."

"This isn't what's been distracting you, is it?" He asked shrewdly.

Kate smiled wanly, "No, but I would like you and your friends to try and track it down, anyway. I am serious about it being able to help."

Harry sighed and nodded, "Fine, but you have to tell me eventually."

"I will." She promised, "And try to keep quiet about the charter, we don't want to alert anyone that we are looking for it, and we also don't want to make it so if you find it someone will want to read it. You never know what it might say."

Harry nodded, "I guess you're right."

"Now can we begin?" She asked, looking eager to begin dueling.

Harry laughed at her childish glee.

_**SEVERAL DAYS LATER**_

"This is hopeless!" Ron exclaimed slamming his book shut and peering at Harry over the stacks of books surrounding them.

Indeed, Harry was beginning to feel frustrated himself. They'd spent all week searching every nook and cranny of the history section of the library for some clue as to the location of the Hogwarts Charter since Kate had told him about it. Initially they'd found many references and conspiracy theories, most of which they'd been able to eliminate at the table before they even put research into it, but then the first two hours had ended as quickly as their trail of clues had, leaving them all more than a little frustrated. Kate had even started shortening their lessons so he could have more time to search and also seemed to have complete faith in their ability to track the stupid parchment down. Unfortunately, Harry was beginning to wonder if she'd misplaced her faith, something he did not like at all.

"There has to be something in here _somewhere_!" Hermione exclaimed, seemingly frustrated herself.

"Shhh!" Madam Pince hissed at them from her desk.

They all ducked their heads awkwardly and whispered to each other, "What are we going to do?" Harry asked his friends, "We aren't going to find anything like this."

"We have to check the rest of the library and make a list of all the references we have already, no matter how outlandish, and any more we find, I think." Hermione said.

Harry nodded, "I agree. It can't hurt to have a list, and we can cross off the ones that don't work or something."

Hermione hmmed her agreement, "Yes, but I want to have proof before we get rid of a theory, because honestly, it's been so long that anything could have happened to it."

"You're right." Ron agreed, not sounding excited about the prospect of investigating every conspiracy theory. "Though I don't think it's going to be possible for us to check every single one right now."

"I know, Ron." Hermione snapped, a touch harshly.

Ron's ears turned red but otherwise he didn't react except to say, "But I _was _going to say that maybe the other Rogues could help us."

"That's true." Harry said, "They would help us, too."

"Brillant!" Ron whispered cheerfully, "We've a plan now!"

"Potter! Weasley!" Angelina Johnson exclaimed loudly as she rushed into the library, "Good news!"

"Out!" Madam Pince cut her off, stalking over to the group, "Get out, before I take points. All of you are making far too much nose to be studying!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all scrambled to get there things and jump out of their seats as Pince glared at them furiously. Angelina just looked apologetic.

"Sorry, guys." She said.

"It's fine." Harry sighed, though Hermione's disapproving frown indicated that she did not quite agree with him.

"How'd you find us anyway?" Ron asked suspiciously, "You always seem to know where we are."

"I ask around." The 7th year answered simply, "Everyone takes notice of you lot nowadays."

"Oh." Ron muttered, looking down as if self conscious.

"What did you want to tell Harry and Ron?" Hermione interrupted shrewdly.

Angelina's face light up as a beaming smile returned to her. "McGonagall forced Umbridge to let us play!" She exclaimed brightly.

"YES!" Harry yelled, pumping his fist into the air.

Ron also broke out into a relieved grin, "Brilliant!" He exclaimed, "Bloody brilliant!"

Angelina grinned widely at them, "Practice starts again on Saturday." She said, "I'll see you then!" She turned to walk away, giving them a small wave as she left the trio alone again in the middle of the hall.

They stood in silence for a moment before Hermione said, "Let's get started on that list. We can do the ones we remember first."

_**12 GRIMMAULD PLACE THAT NIGHT WITH JAKE**_

The Order meeting was not all that interesting, in Jake's opinion, not compared to what came after, and how some of the previous meeting had gone. They had bickered about who they should approach for alliances and who they thought they ought to recruit. They bickered about giving the kids, Harry specifically, more information, as well as trying to find out where he'd disappeared this summer. They bickered about what they should do about Voldemort's supporters in the ministry, what they should do about Fudge's latest efforts to ruin Dumbledore, all the usual stuff. Then Molly had invited everyone to stay for dinner, and the same normal people stayed and the same normal people left with same normal excuses. Nothing really new. Jake personally, certainly had nothing new to report on guard duty.

Dinner was also pretty normal. Everyone discussed the order meeting, their own lives, their opinions on what was happening, told jokes and stories, made fun of people, all the normal stuff that Jake honestly enjoyed when with certain personalities and hated when with others. Sirius and Remus, for example, were a lot of fun to be around, though Sirius kept shooting him looks during dinner that Jake took to mean he wanted to talk.

As soon as people began to depart, Sirius shot Jake a significant look and gestured towards the door with his head.

Jake got the message and got up, casually saying his goodbyes and following his friend down the hall. They entered a secluded room and Sirius put up secrecy spells around them.

"What's up, Sirius?" He asked, having a suspicion he knew what this was about.

"Remember what I told you about Harry's mystery girl?" He asked.

"Harry's mystery girl?" He quirked an eyebrow, but nodded. "That's what we're calling her?"

Sirius grinned, "Yep, because I'm pretty sure Kate is a girls name."

"Wow!" Jake exclaimed sarcastically, "You don't say! That really narrows it down! Every girl on earth called Kate!"

Sirius had the grace to look sheepish. "It's really kind of a common name…"

"So it could be an alias, then." Jake countered, seeing his chance to throw the man off, friend or not, between Sirius and Kate-well there was no competition.

Sirius's eyes widened, "I hadn't even thought of that!" He exclaimed, slapping his forehead.

Jake's lips twitched, but he did offer Harry's godfather a small comfort, "Well, to be fair, it's been awhile since you've done a real investigation like this…"

Sirius grunted, "Don't remind me."

"I looked through the newspapers and there are a lot of people named Kate, or Catherine with either a "C" or a "K" and several anonymous contributions where Kate is a filler for another name." Jake said helpfully, "But I do know that Kate is a more popular name in English speaking countries…"

"That makes sense, I suppose." Sirius said, brow furrowing as he thought, "It makes our search easier, that's for damn sure."

Jake snorted lightly, "No kidding."

They stayed in companionable silence for a beat before Sirius broke it, some of the worries he had clearly been hiding coming out. "Hey, listen, d'you think that, you know…" He hesitated, "That this might be who Harry was with this summer?"

Jake's eyes widened as he tried to think of a way to steer this conversation somewhere else. "It's a possibility." He said at last.

Sirius mistook his silence for consideration. He sighed, "This whole thing has been messing with me."

Jake nodded, "I know, mate. It's hard to not know about someone who was supposed to be like family." His voice got quiet at the end as he thought about his own family, and the sense of betrayal he'd felt at his discovery of his birth parents. Merlin, he'd broken down like a baby right on Jamie, which had been an even bigger irony because she was a muggleborn and his parents had been death eaters.

Sirius agreed solemnly. "It's my fault though." He whispered, "That things turned out like this, I mean."

Jake didn't say anything. He didn't really know what to say. He didn't want to say anything about the Potters or Pettigrew because that seemed cruel, but he couldn't talk about Harry getting sent to the Dursleys while Sirius went to Azkaban because that was, in a large way, his fault. He shouldn't have let his desire for revenge take over his love for Harry. Though maybe, Jake had to admit, he wasn't being fair. He, for one, wasn't sure what he'd do if one of the Rogues died, though revenge would be high on that list. But he wouldn't have let that get in the way if it meant abandoning another Rogue, because that would only make it twice as bad. And Harry was a Rogue.

Sirius shifted, snapping Jake out of his thoughts. "That's not fair to anyone involved." He said at last, deciding this was true enough, "And at the end of the day, _all _of this Voldemort's fault."

Sirius glowered at the name, hatred burning in his eyes, "Voldemort ruined _everything_. Everything." He swallowed thickly and Jake was alarmed to see tears leaking out of the corners of the man's eyes, even as his hair fell into his face when he bowed his head.

Jake did not mention that Voldemort was also responsible for a lot of the good stuff too, indirectly. Harry would have never met the Rogues, had he not been orphaned, he might not have become friends with any Weasleys, and he definitely would not be the great person he is today. But neither would Sirius Black be the nearly broken man before him. Because make no mistake, Sirius Black was _not _broken.

"He'll lose everything in return." Jake said with conviction, his own hatred of Voldemort having grown the more time he spent with the Order, the more he saw what Voldemort had done to several generations, and was about to do to Harry's, after orphaning so many of them already. Yes, Voldemort truly deserved less than nothing...but the most painful of deaths at the hands of Harry Potter would have to do instead.

"He will." Sirius agreed, his voice barely a whisper. "Harry will win."

"He will." Jake confirmed, feeling like he was doing Lily's job at the same time that he needed her himself.

Sirius seemed to shake off his depression as suddenly as it had descended, "I think we need to look into everyone in the Order's connections, because when I asked around, nobody admitted to talking about Order stuff outside the meetings, and I think I believe them..."

"But that doesn't rule out an accident." Jake finished.

"Exactly."

A/N: REVIEW! And no, this story was not abandoned.


	30. Chapter 30: Birthdays and Bondings

Chapter 30: Birthdays and Bonding

Harry rolled into his back and sat up, allowing himself a mental break from his homework. The muggle song that was playing over the wireless came into focus as he absorbed his surroundings. He was almost alone laying on the rug in Kate's office, but the rustling of parchment, assured him that she was still at her desk grading essays. They were just hanging out, like the old days when they'd sit together and do homework and listen to music in the Ross's living room. On the weekends that Kate and Jamie came home anyway.

He yawned, which caused her head to snap up, as she jumped slightly, startled out of concentration. He grinned at her.

She scowled at him, cheeks tinged red.

"Getting lost in your homework?" He teased.

"_Your_ homework actually." She retorted, "Your essays for me seem to be better than what the other professors have said about your work." She observed.

He blushed, "Well I actually try in your class. And what are you doing talking about my essays with other professors!?"

Kate laughed, "Many of the Professors like to brag about their top students and you happen to be one of mine. All the extra lessons are paying off."

Harry snorted, "Well seeing as its every night…"

Kate shrugged, "I'm fine with it, and at this rate I think you could take on an Auror pretty easily."

Harry mimicked her shrug, "If you say so. You know our lessons are helping me in Transfiguration and Charms too? Because I already know a lot of the spells from you."

"Figures. Dueling isn't all about defensive spells and the dark arts." Kate said.

_What I want, you've got_

_And it might be hard to handle_

_But like the flame that burns the candle_

_The candle feeds the flame, yeah yeah_

_What I've got's full stock of thoughts and dreams that scatter_

_You pull them all together_

_And how, I can't explain,_

_Oh yeah, well well you_

_You make my dreams come true_

_Well well you, oh yeah_

_You make my dreams come true _

(You Make My Dreams, Hall & Oates)

Harry and Kate's conversation cut off abruptly as they both sang along to one of the songs that they had loved to listen to when they were younger. They exchanged grins as they sang along, unabashedly swaying side to side.

They were all smiles through the song and after they sat in silence for a moment, before Kate broke it.

"You ready for your first DA meeting tomorrow?"

"I think so." Harry said hesitantly, "Are you sure you can't come?"

Kate nodded, not smiling because she knew Harry was letting some vulnerability out. "I'm not going to come, you don't need me. You know more than enough to sit your NEWTs right now."

Harry smiled slightly, "If you're sure."

"I am." She said, giving him a strong look. Kate changed the subject as her thoughts moved along, "Are you ready for Quidditch this weekend?"

"Yes." This time there was no uncertainty.

"Good." Kate approved, "Because Jamie is going to come."

"She is?" Harry asked in surprise, "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She wanted to surprise you, a little, I think." Kate said with a slightly mischievous look.

"You really are mean then." Harry laughed.

She looked innocent, "Dare I even ask about the charter?"

Harry's good mood vanished instantly, "We can't seem to get a good lead. Every time we think we've got something it slips through or is proven impossible! Just yesterday we thought that charter could have been in Godric's Hollow, because that's where Gryffindor is from, but that's impossible because Gryffindor Manor was destroyed before Hogwarts was a thing! And none of the founders had any other ties to the place!"

Kate laughed despite the seriousness of the topic. "It's ok, Harry, I wasn't expecting you to find it in a week, these things take time. Just keep looking."

"I will." He promised, "Did I tell you what happened in History of Magic today?"

Kate shook her head, "No and I haven't been about and socializing so I'm disconnected from today's rumors."

"Well, Hedwig flew to me in the middle of class and her wing was bent awkwardly and her feathers were everywhere. She was hurt pretty badly."

Kate frowned, "Someone intercepted your mail?"

Harry nodded, "I think so. The letter was from Sirius but it didn't really have anything other than generic questions about my friends."

"How often have you been writing to Sirius? Is there a chance that this isn't the first letter to have been intercepted?"

Harry looked a little sheepish as he admitted, "This is probably the first, I haven't really been writing Sirius, nor have we talked over the Floo…"

"Why haven't you been writing him?"

Harry shrugged, "You're here now, and you're my sister, so I suppose I don't really need him, cause everything we would talk about, I'd rather talk to you about. Plus I don't need to write to the other Rogues, so I don't need to send as many letters."

Kate smiled wanly, "Harry, you shouldn't write him off, even though you're closer to me. You never know when it might come in handy, especially since you know he overheard you talking about me."

Harry blushed, "I'm not trying to be a leak in our group…"

"It's not your fault. Umbridge, because I know its her, shouldn't be in your mail, in fact I will be watching her carefully because I know she doesn't have any right to be intercepting your letters." Now Kate actually sounded upset.

"Thanks, I'll be more careful anyway."

"That's probably smart." Kate concurred, "Now don't you have homework to do? Mum would kill me if I caused you to let your grades slip."

Harry grinned and looked at his parchment, "Can you help me with this essay? Snape gave us nothing to work with in the prompt, and I don't know what else to add but it's too short."

"Sure, whats it on?"

_**A FEW DAYS LATER**_

Harry paced nervously inside of the classroom the Room of Requirement had provided for the DA meeting. Hermione was excitedly going through the bookshelves the room had provided, exclaiming on different titles.

"This room really does have everything." Ron commented, examining all of the training dummies the room had provided. They were the exact models Kate had in her classroom, high end general magical dueling dummies that were enchanted to both serve as a dueling partners and spell targets that could tell you how well a spell was performed. They were quite expensive, but apparently Dumbledore had been more than happy to spend the money in light of "recent events."

"It really does." Harry agreed, looking at the mirrors on the walls they could use to watch themselves. The whole room seemed to be a combination of Kate's practice room at home, the Hogwarts Library, and a classroom with a fireplace to make it feel more homey. Harry honestly quite liked it.

Harry waved his wand, producing his stag patronus for all to see. He smiled at it and caught Hermione, who seemed to already be midway through reading a book, staring at the patronus with a frown. "Hermione?" He called softly.

She shook herself. "What's Kate's patronus?" She asked him shrewdly.

Harry smirked, surprised she had picked this up, "A timber wolf." He answered.

"It wasn't always a timber wolf though?" Hermione pressed.

"Only after she became an animagus, did it switch." Harry said, "She was 17."

"That's not Prongs, is it?" She said gesturing at the Patronus.

Harry shrugged, "It could be, but I know it's an exact replica of Kate's old patronus."

Hermione looked thoughtful, "It suits her, in an odd way. She kind of seems like your dad in certain ways I suppose."

Harry shrugged again, "I guess, though I wonder if my dad's patronus was always a stag."

"How can a girl have a stag patronus though?" Ron asked, tactlessly.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "It's not about the gender of the animals so much as what is represents. Does and stags represent completely different personalities, you know, like mares and stallions."

"And stags are supposed to be protective, confident, and noble, and Kate is definitely all of those things." Harry added.

"Why didn't your patronus change with hers?" Ron wondered.

"I dunno." Harry admitted.

"Because the wolf is representative, to Harry, of Kate's power and change into an adult and a hero figure to the world, while the stag is who she is by nature." Hermione said.

"That… makes sense in a twisted way." Harry conceded.

Hermione changed the subject, "Do you have a plan for today?"

"Yes." Harry said affronted, "Do you really think Kate would let me be unprepared for this?"

"He's got a point, you know." Ron said, "I thought _my _family was close knit, but you lot look out for each other."

"Dad always said that at the end of the day, your family was your family and that we are a team, us against the world, and we had to look out for each other." Harry explained, "He was right, though I think the three of us added to our family."

Hermione smiled slightly, "He's not wrong, and neither are you."

Ron agreed and then added, "I think that people should start arriving soon."

Sure enough, a quarter of an hour later, the room contained every single DA member. Harry called them to attention and said, "Hey, everyone, welcome to the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army. I was thinking that today we should figure out where everyone is and break up into three groups based on skill level. Don't feel bad no matter where you are put, its just to make sure that everyone can focus on what they actually need help with. The three groups are going to be creatures, spells, and protection techniques, whichever group your in is the category that I think you are best at."

This had been Kate's idea, put everyone in the group of people that had similar strengths to them. "Creatures includes everything to do with dark creatures and defending yourself against non-humans. Spells is every kind of spell that can be used in a duel, which is literally everything, but more specifically how well you use them. Protection techniques includes warding, rituals, potions, and history of the dark arts."

Everyone was staring at him intently and Harry was relieved that they all seemed to think this was a good idea. "So to figure out who should go where, I think that everyone should break up into 6 groups and get a practice dummy, shoot disarmers, stunners, blasting curses, and anything else you can think of, at them, but remember that they will reflect back at you, which means you need to know the shield as well."

It was incredibly strange to watch everyone do as he asked while went over to the dummies and lined them up so he could watch everyone and write down the names of the people who did the best. After this, the room had provided him with some boggarts and other creatures that could be dealt with by students. Everyone that would get into Protection Techniques would simply have to be in Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, NEWT History of Magic, or NEWT Potions. He figured everyone would be notably better at one thing over the other two. Or at least he hoped.

_**NOVEMBER 3, 1995 GREAT HALL BREAKFAST**_

Kate Ross watched the mail pour into the Hall wearily. She had a bad feeling her friends wouldn't be able to resist embarrassing her today...not that she really minded, but she didn't want to draw too much attention to herself.

Nonetheless, once the owls came into the hall with the morning mail, it was easy to spot a rather large group of them coming straight for her. It didn't look like there were any Howlers though, thank Merlin. That would've been embarrassing and they used to do it when they were still at Ilvermorny all the time. Enchant a howler to come and sing-

"Happy Birthday, Professor!" A first year chirped, pulling Kate out of her thoughts. She looked up.

"Thank you, Mr. Hull." She said, smiling. Behind him, his friends repeated his message and she thanked them as well.

It was not long before she had more birthday cards and presents then she knew what to do with. It seemed that, not only had the Rogues and her other friends and acquaintances and whatever the hell Drake was, done their worst but, many students had also taken it upon themselves to send her a card. It was a little embarrassing, especially as she could tell by the surprise on all of her colleagues faces that this was not normal.

She looked at Minerva, who she happened to be sitting next to, awkwardly, "I didn't think I'd get this many cards, usually I don't."

She easily had a hundred cards piled in front of her and about a dozen brightly wrapped packages.

Minerva gave her a funny look, like she felt like she should reprimand her, but was also rather amused. And technically, Kate hadn't really done anything wrong, except be exceedingly well liked, apparently.

"This is not really your fault, and I think the house elves would be more than happy to help you move everything." Minerva told her. "And Happy Birthday, Kate."

"Thanks." Kate muttered, relief giving way to being a little flattered by all the attention.

Kate's birthday did not stop their, either. When she entered her office later that morning, she'd found it full to the brim with balloons, there had been a cake left on her desk in her classroom and three of her classes ended up singing her 'Happy Birthday'. By dinner, the whole school was coming up to wish her a Happy Birthday, as that seemed to be the thing to do, but then some Gryffindors, including Harry, had jokingly tied some balloons her chair, as Umbridge handed them all detentions. Kate had just laughed.

Harry, Kate had noticed, was getting funny looks from several of the professors for his rather relaxed and forward behavior towards her, which led her to suspect that he was not comfortable around many people in Hogwarts, and people like Albus, Severus, Minerva, and even Hagrid, hadn't noticed until now. After all, there weren't many people Harry was comfortable standing right next to, or looking and laughing right in their face, as opposed to his normal habit of looking past them or laughing towards his toes. And the Hogwarts staff had finally noticed. Oops. Oh, well, it was her birthday and she seemed to be getting spoiled by everyone so…

She later found out that 3rd year Hufflepuffs had baked her the cake, Fred and George had filled her office with balloons, the Slytherins had known about her birthday early enough to be responsible for a great number of her birthday cards and the Ravenclaws like to put poems in cards.

The best part of her birthday, in her opinion, had been when she and Harry had snuck down to the kitchens and made themselves ice cream sundaes to eat and then probably get stomach aches at 3 am.

_**THAT SATURDAY, GRYFFINDOR VS. SLYTHERIN QUIDDITCH MATCH**_

Harry, Kate knew, was extremely nervous about this match, as was she, for the same reason. One Ronald Weasley. Ron was much more confident than he had been prior to this summer and a much better Quidditch player, but the Slytherins had started creating badges with the slogan "Weasley is Our King" which, Kate knew, couldn't lead to anything good. So she'd confiscated the lot of them, got into an argument with Severus, won when she threatened to bring Minerva into it, and then shoved them in a drawer in her office. Unfortunately, Ron still managed to find the badges and take a strong blow to his confidence, which Harry was still trying build up, with limited success. And Kate was pretty sure the Slytherins were still up to something because Malfoy, who'd sulked after she'd taken the badges, quite suddenly regained his oversized smirk. She had tried to speak with him, and though she was his favorite teacher besides Snape, he had not been willing to budge, despite her repeated warnings that he was not doing himself or anyone else any favors by drawing attention to himself. She had also taken the opportunity to inform him that he should consider not dividing the school at a time when even the sorting hat was preaching unity. He had given her a strange look but she knew it would take a lot more time before anything ever sunk in with the arrogant and entitled blond, who really did not know what he was getting into when picking a fight with her little brother.

Nonetheless, Jamie had arrived to much whispering at breakfast and Kate had whisked her off to discuss her progress on Harry's Horcrux (not that Harry knew that that was what they were talking about) before they snuck down to get a few words with their brother before the match. Finally, they'd made their way to the teacher's box, both sisters stopping to talk with students along the way, while Harry rushed Ron to the locker room to get dressed for the match.


	31. Chapter 31: Hit and Miss

Chapter 31: Hit and Miss

WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN,

HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN, WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN —

The match had been nothing short of a disaster with the song. Malfoy's smug face and comments had grated on his nerves until he wanted to hex him. But Harry had seen it at last: The tiny fluttering Golden Snitch was hovering feet from the ground at the Slytherin end of the pitch. He dived. . . .

In a matter of seconds, Malfoy was streaking out of the sky on Harry's left, a green-and-silver blur lying flat on his broom. . . .

The Snitch skirted the foot of one of the goal hoops and scooted off toward the other side of the stands; its change of direction suited Mal- foy, who was nearer. Harry pulled his Firebolt around, he and Malfoy were now neck and neck . . . Feet from the ground, Harry lifted his right hand from his broom, stretching toward the Snitch . . . to his right, Malfoy's arm extended too, reaching, groping . . .

It was over in two breathless, desperate, windswept seconds — Harry's fingers closed around the tiny, struggling ball — Malfoy's fingernails scrabbled the back of Harry's hand hopelessly — Harry pulled his broom upward, holding the struggling ball in his hand and the Gryffindor spectators screamed their approval. . .

They were saved, it did not matter that Ron had let in so many goals, nobody would remember as long as Gryffindor had won —

WHAM!

A Bludger hit Harry squarely in the small of the back and he flew forward off his broom; luckily he was only five or six feet above the ground, having dived so low to catch the Snitch, but he was winded all the same as he landed flat on his back on the frozen pitch. He heard Madam Hooch's shrill whistle, an uproar in the stands compounded of catcalls, angry yells and jeering, a thud, then Angelina's frantic voice.

"Are you all right?"

" 'Course I am," said Harry grimly, taking her hand and allowing her to pull him to his feet. Madam Hooch was zooming toward one of the Slytherin players above him, though he could not see who it was at this angle.

"It was that thug, Crabbe," said Angelina angrily. "He whacked the Bludger at you the moment he saw you'd got the Snitch — but we won, Harry, we won!"

Harry heard a snort from behind him and turned around, still holding the Snitch tightly in his hand: Draco Malfoy had landed close by; white-faced with fury, he was still managing to sneer.

"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?" he said to Harry. "I've never seen a worse Keeper . . . but then he was born in a bin. . . . Did you like my lyrics, Potter?"

Harry did not answer; he turned away to meet the rest of the team who were now landing one by one, yelling and punching the air in triumph, all except Ron, who had dismounted from his broom over by the goalposts and was making his way slowly back to the changing rooms alone.

"We wanted to write another couple of verses!" Malfoy called, as Katie and Alicia hugged Harry. "But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly — we wanted to sing about his mother, see —"

"Talk about sour grapes," said Angelina, casting Malfoy a disgusted look.

"— we couldn't fit in useless loser either — for his father, you know —"

Fred and George had realized what Malfoy was talking about. Halfway through shaking Harry's hand they stiffened, looking around at Malfoy.

"Leave it," said Angelina at once, taking Fred by the arm. "Leave it, Fred, let him yell, he's just sore he lost, the jumped-up little —"

"— but you like the Weasleys, don't you, Potter?" said Malfoy, sneering. "Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been dragged up by Muggles even the Weasleys' hovel smells okay —"

Harry grabbed hold of George; meanwhile it was taking the combined efforts of Angelina, Alicia, and Katie to stop Fred leaping on Malfoy, who was laughing openly. Harry looked around for Madam Hooch, but she was still berating Crabbe for his illegal Bludger attack.

"Or perhaps," said Malfoy, leering as he backed away, "you can remember what your mother's house stank like, Potter, and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it —" (Rowling OotP 19)

"Draco Malfoy!" Before Harry could completely comprehend what the blond had said. An oppressive cold heat bore down on them all like the most heavy humidity Harry had ever felt. The most alarming change to the scene was, however, the near black purple tinge that the world had adopted.

The entire group froze immediately and spun around to find the source.

Harry could honestly say that he'd never seen Kate with so much magic lashing out...then again, usually she was able to check her temper and when she was younger she hadn't been as powerful. But right now… Malfoy looked like he was going to shit himself.

Harry was the only one, in fact, who was not particularly concerned with his sister's fury, except Jamie, who he noticed also looked quite upset but was standing a little behind Kate nevertheless.

Fred and George both went limp and watched Kate approach.

In a tightly controlled voice that only betrayed a hint of steel, Kate said, "Come with me, Mr. Malfoy, I would like to discuss that disgusting display, and I'm sure Jamie wishes to congratulate Gryffindor of their win."

Jamie nodded behind her and Harry could feel the others deflate. "And I fully expect Harry, Fred, and George are capable of walking away?"

"Professor, he called our mother-" Fred exclaimed angrily, before being cut off.

"Hem hem." Umbridge had made her very unwelcome appearance. "I do believe that I am in charge of discipline at this school." She declared, "And I believe that Mr. Potter-"

"Let's take this inside, shall we?" Kate bit out, "Everyone can go, except you, Draco."

The trek up to the castle was done in silence, neither Umbridge or Draco making a sound. Draco, at least, seemed to realize he was in for it, but Kate suspected Umbridge was trying to plot the best way to take down as many Gryffindors as possible. At least Kate had managed to calm her magic before too many people noticed. When they reached Kate's office, they all sat down, Kate at her desk and Draco and Umbridge in the two armchairs in front of it. She made a mental note to incinerate and replace the one Umbridge was in.

"As I was saying, Mr. Potter-"

"Has done nothing wrong today and so help me Merlin if you say another word!" Kate cut her off forcefully.

Umbridge stares at her in shock for a moment but also seemed to take a second to appreciate the magic pulsing off the DADA Professor in waves. "Why I have never-" She began.

Kate's magic seemed to pulse and Umbridge shut up.

"We can discuss this at another time, Professor." Umbridge humphed before she left, trying to salvage a bit of dignity. As soon as she shut the door, Kate turned her attention to the blond, who didn't look quite as smug as he might have had it been another professor in front of him. Someone who could be fired without causing an international incident.

"_I have never_ seen such blatant bullying and attempts at assault in my life! I am appalled and I hope nobody in Slytherin ever wants to be a professional Quidditch player, because after that display in front of actual professionals, sister or not, I can guarantee you that every team will eventually hear about this and be unwilling to ever sign one of the Slytherins out there today. Congratulations, Mr. Malfoy, you have successfully ruined your own reputation and looked like a fool doing it."

Draco opened and closed his mouth several times. Kate controlled her temper and changed course.

"I think Vincent Crabbe can have detention with Mr. Filch for the next two weeks, and you Draco, can have detention with me for all of next week."

Draco made a noise of protest but Kate silenced him with a harsh look, "The only reason why you will not be receiving a similar punishment to your friend is because technically, all you have done was name call, no matter how replusive it was. As for your little song, I will be taking 100 points from Slytherin for that display, although I should take many more, and make no mistake, if this had been Ilvermorny or another American magical school, you'd have been lucky not to be expelled."

Draco sneered, suddenly regaining some of his normal vitriol. "This is the best magical school in the world, no matter who teaches here. And this will not stand, wait until my father hears about this-"

Kate actually snorted, she couldn't help it, "First, the teachers have a lot to do with the quality of a school, and secondly, did you just threaten me, a fully grown adult, with your father?"

Draco flushed slightly, but did not back down.

"In case it has escaped your notice, your father is not the most powerful person on this earth in influence, money, magical ability, intelligence or any other scale. He alone, is no threat to most people, especially adults, and is only an impressive threat against school children, who happen to go to a school where he is on the Board. A board which, in reality, has little to no power." She said brutally, not even bothering to mention that she was, unlike Lucius Malfoy, the most powerful, in terms of magical ability, witch in the world, and more than wealthy enough to be unafraid of anything Malfoy could try. Unlike Draco however, Lucius was more aware of what she was and could do, and therefore would never do anything against her unless he absolutely had to, it would be suicide, despite her being a "mudblood" or whatever.

Draco glared at her now, but his mouth stayed stubbornly shut. Kate didn't have to use Legilimency to see that her words were getting to him nonetheless.

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Draco, you can't keep hiding behind Daddy, you're 15 years old, for Merlin's sake. You have to think for yourself, I know its easy to want to stay a kid forever, but you won't and the faster you realize that and begin to prepare yourself, the better off you'll be."

"I _am_ ready to be an adult and I do know what I believe!" Draco insisted, "Professor, I know what I'm doing and I know I'm right."

"That's what we all think at 15, and it's cruel to have to be forced out of the hubris that the security of being a teenager brings so early, but you are about to get stuck in a war, kid, and you don't know what the hell you're getting into." Kate said, trying to be gentle but clear. She already knew he wouldn't be able to handle being a death eater, but it wasn't too late for him… she hoped.

Draco smirked, "I think it's you who doesn't know what you're getting into."

Kate was tempted not to dignify that with a response, "I have defeated 3 dark lords in 4 years and toppled several rogue regimes in the process. This ain't my first rodeo, Draco."

She, unfortunately, knew what it felt like to see stuff at a much younger age than you should have to, but she was already older than Harry's parents had been and she couldn't ever just let people suffer. Especially when she had the power to stop it.

"For my detentions, you will be doing research." She told him, deciding they'd both had enough and she'd given him plenty to chew on, "You can go."

He did not run away like she'd expected him to.

_**THE NEXT DAY**_

Dolores Umbridge was both insulted and humiliated, not to mention suspicious of the American who seemed suddenly, rather fond of Harry Potter, the attention seeking spoiled brat himself. Only Severus and his house seemed to be able to see the nasty liar for what he was and she had hoped she could add Kate to the list but she was beginning to wonder if that was wise. If anything, Ross seemed to know Potter far too well and seemed far too willing to spend any amount of time in the boy's company. At first, she had attributed this to Kate wishing to monitor the boy herself as well as not trusting the miscreant, but after her display today, she wasn't so sure. She vowed to keep a closer eye on the two of them, if something was afoot between them, then Ross would have to go. As she made her way down to dinner, she passed the library and saw something that immediately raised all of her mental alarms.

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing?" She demanded as she stalked over to the table that he, that Mudblood Granger, and the son of that loser, Weasley sat, in hushed conversation, surrounded by books.

"Research." He answered immediately.

"On what?" She narrowed her eyes.

"None of your business." He retorted while his little sidekicks smirked at her.

"Detention, then." She said victorious but still suspicious. "For all of next week."

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Ok." He smiled pleasantly, "Is that all?"

"I wonder if your precious team can continue to win if you are constantly in detention like this." She tried.

Potter, infuriatingly, answered easily, "I'm sure we'll find a way, but thank you for your concern."

It was not until that night that it struck her as suspicious how little he seemed to care about getting sent to detention with Professor Ross, in fact it took her so long to calm down that she never even heard Hermione's comment about continuing to look for "the charter" as she left the room, furious in the face of the brat's defiance.

A/N:::REVIEW! I'm sorry this is late, but we are getting to some tougher chapters to write.


	32. Chapter 32: Wards and Opinions

Chapter 32: Wards and Opinions

Dolores Umbridge made sure she knew exactly when Potter was supposed to be in detention with Ross and had a plan in place to spy on them during the detention to figure out what was going on between them.

By 8:15, she was making her way towards the DADA corridor, knowing that the two should be in the middle of a detention right then and that if she just walked by, even the great Kate Ross would probably not notice, and even if she did, it wasn't exactly something she would be suspicious about. Unfortunately for her, Professor Ross's classroom door was shut.

She approached it and carefully listened for a moment, trying to determine if the two would notice if she opened the door. She thought of an excuse to be there, just in case. For some reason, she was incredibly nervous about doing this because she knew that Potter was dangerous and that Ross could be dangerous if she were so inclined, not to mention, Ross was untouchable right now.

She leaned closer to the door to listen, "Harry, you need to be more natural when you move your feet, these maneuvers are much more advanced than what most people can do, so the footwork, which I understand is different, is extremely important. Try again, use a disarming spell this time with the move."

She heard Ross say, her eyes narrowed as her heart thumped in her chest, she knew that they could only be doing one thing. Her blood rushed in her ears as she felt her worst fears seize her, Ross was helping Potter. Whether it was unwittingly, the boy was a nasty liar, or she was in a league with he and Dumbeldore, she did not know. But she had to put a stop to this immediately.

She thought heard a rustling sound from nearby and jumping violently, hands shaking as she groped around for her wand, "Who's there?" She looked around quickly, eyes darting from side to side, but she found nothing and suddenly felt quite foolish as she made eye contact with a painting on the other side of the hall.

She decided she could break up Potter's little lesson later. She hurried off, trying to justify her exit as something other than running away.

_**EARLIER THAT EVENING WITH HARRY**_

"I've got to go." Harry announced to his two best friends.

Both heads snapped up in surprise, "Already?" Hermione asked, casting a _Tempus_, only to realize that her friend was right.

"Yeah, though I think we made a lot of progress tonight." Harry said with a nod towards their notebook full of information on the Hogwarts Charter. Tonight, they had been tracing the records of the Charter through the 14th century, which was rather difficult considering the fact that the Plague was happening at the same time, as was the Hundred Years' War, which meant it wasn't a great time for written records.

Nonetheless, they had managed to narrow down the path of the charter to four possibilities, two of which intertwined quite frequently according to the evidence they could gather in history books and other notes, which meant that all three thought that it was the most likely path for the stupid paper. Kate had agreed and reminded them that they more times a story is repeated by unconnected sources, the more accurate the story probably was, or in this case, figuring out where they knew the Charter was prior to whatever event and then what happened to everything once said event happened. To say it was difficult, tedious, and a lot of guessing, would be like saying Kate was good at magic, a gross understatement.

"We'll keep looking while you're serving time." Ron said, surprising both of his friends.

"What?" He asked defensively after a moment of silence.

"Ron Weasley, offering to do more research?" Harry joked.

The redhead in question shrugged, "It's actually pretty interesting and isn't there some Rogue bylaw about this sort of thing?"

"Probably." Harry shrugged, glancing at Hermione.

Hermione caught him and rolled her eyes, "You would know better than me." She told him dryly.

Harry grinned sheepishly, "Well it's not like Kate sits there and lectures me about rules, is it?"

"That'd be a weird thing for an older sister to do, teacher or not." Ron commented. "Sounds more like Hermione's job."

Hermione tutted him and Harry began to pack his stuff up to leave. He slung his bag over his shoulder and mock saluted his friends before he made his way, cheerfully, to Kate's office.

He made it there in good time, only stopping briefly to give Professor Dumbledore a polite hello before continuing on his way.

By the time he walked into Kate's classroom, he'd already decided to ask her for help on what he could teach the DA at their next meeting as, combined with Kate's classes, most of the Hogwarts population was nearly caught up to where they should be, according to Kate.

Apparently, Kate had found the time to contact Frankie and ask her to get the general syllabus for DADA from Ilvermony. It was hard for her to line up the curriculum because Ilvermonry had more class options than Hogwarts that could be substituted for DADA or other core classes as part of the school's efforts to be more like muggle high schools. For example, there was a dueling elective that counted as DADA credit and an Animagus class that could be substituted for Transfiguration. Harry vaguely recalled the Rogues choosing classes together in hopes they'd get as many classes together as possible.

He shook all those thoughts from his mind as he sat down and watched Kate bounce in, wearing muggle running shorts and a tee shirt.

"Ready to start?" She asked cheerfully.

Harry grinned and hopped up, rolling his shoulders and swinging his arms to loosen up.

"Let's start with blocking unforgivables." Kate said, gesturing for Harry to stand in the middle of the cleared classroom.

He got set into a basic duelling stance and glanced around quickly at everything he could summon to block his sister's spells.

Kate opened fire with stinging hexes altered to be either green or red depending on what spell she was imitating. At first she just shot spells straight at him and did not move around, only alternating what part of his body she aimed at, but several minutes into the exercise Kate began darting around the room, forcing Harry to move to keep her in front of him. The more Kate moved around, the more Harry had to use duelling maneuvers instead of simply turning. Eventually, Kate threw him a massive curveball when she apparated to the otherside of the room and nailed him with a stunner.

When Harry woke, the first thing that he saw was his sister's smirk. He gaped at her for a moment as a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Hermione, was screaming that you couldn't apparate in Hogwarts.

"Wha-how?" He sputtered, staring at her wide-eyed.

Kate shrugged, "Wards are like massive magical domes imbued with a single purpose, and the magic, depending on the strength of the caster, is a certain... thickness is the best word for it, I suppose, all the way around. When you attack the ward, whichever area you attack, the magic of the ward moves that direction to reinforce it, and you either have more power than the ward and break it, or you don't. Most wards however, especially powerful ones, can be pushed so all the magic is reinforcing one side, which creates a hole you can sneak through on the other side. This is hard to do without destroying the ward, which would usually alert the caster to the fact that there is an intruder. Hogwarts wards, and other ward schemes, have multiple layers of the same ward, cast and woven together to prevent a single ward from getting pushed to the point that there is a hole, because when that happens, there is another ward right there that you now have to attack. The idea is that once you attack the next ward, it automatically reinforces, plugging the hole thoroughly. I won't get into how you weave wards together, but there are ways to slip between the two wards which allow you to go through one hole, let in close, and attack the next ward, go through that hole, and so on. Hogwarts is hard because of the amount of power it requires to push the ward to the point of a hole and the fact that there are so many layers it would be nearly impossible to actually break the wards, which would warn the whole castle anyway."

"And you attacked the apparition wards?" Harry asked.

Kate grinned cheerfully, "The first time always takes a minute but afterwards, your magic knows what to do so it takes a split second."

"You are actually powerful enough to get through the wards?" Harry asked incredulously.

Kate gave him a chatising look, "Do you really doubt me that much? Dumbledore and maybe even Voldemort could too, just Voldemort apparating here by himself and then having to get back out, having never had a chance to know the wards from the inside, would be extremely stupid and impractical."

Harry nodded, "Right."

"But that is not why I did that, can you guess what I want to go over today? Before you say anything, I know that Drake taught you to apparate already, so that isn't what we're doing."

Harry blinked, "How'd-"

"I know everything." She cut him off with an air of mock superiority.

Harry snorted, "How to deal with apparating during duels?"

"Got it in one!" She chirped. "There are several moves you can use, but it is important to remember that aparating, while it may seem instantaneous, is not. You have less than a second, but it is a long "less than a second" because of the speed in which duels usually move, to get ready. Usually if you pay attention, people look where they are about to go, so if they do disappear you have a general idea and can duck and roll or be ready to attack. Remember, it usually takes people a moment to get orientated after apparating, so you can use that to your advantage and very few people can apparate silently so that is also a give away of where they are. The only real advantage of apparating during a duel is the shock factor against less experienced duelists and the ability to potentially move faster than you opponent can, giving you an opening to hit them. It is not used as much as it might otherwise be as a result, that and most people need to concentrate for a second before they can apparate."

"Then why-?" Harry muttered.

"Because you are dealing with Voldemort, and he knows all of this too, and will probably try to use it to throw you off and intimidate you with a tactic you shouldn't have seen before because it is illegal in most duelling circuits. It is less of a skill tactic than a survival, fighting kind of thing."

"Ah" Harry grimaced but began to imitate Kate's feet as she showed him how to move spin quickly and in a way that kept most of his surroundings at an angle where he could fire off spells and turn to easily.

Until his stepped on his own foot and fell over. And they got his legs caught up on each other and fell to his he did it right but pushed his leg to hard and spun all the way around instead of only part way. Eventually he got the basic movement with his feet. Now all he had to do was swing his arms correctly, which proved to be much harder than he'd anticipated.

"You have to be able to use a spell when you do this." Kate had said.

So he'd begun to shoot random spells off, but usually the wand motion made it more difficult to move in a way that was natural enough to be fast. Harry got frustrated quickly, it normally didn't take him this long to get one of these moves.

"I just don't get it!" He exclaimed in frustration.

"Harry, you need to be more natural when you move your feet, these maneuvers are much more advanced than what most people can do, so the footwork, which I understand is different, is extremely important. Try again, use a disarming spell this time with the move." Kate soothed, "This time let the wand motion work with your momentum."

It was easier, with the disarming spell, but Harry wasn't sure if it was because he was good at the spell or because the wand movement actually went with the momentum of the rest of his body when he pivoted. Either way, it worked.

_**LATER THAT EVENING**_

Albus Dumbledore had known this year would be difficult. Between the return of Voldemort, the ministry, and having to minimize his contact with one of the few students who always knew something that he didn't, which would probably put him at a disadvantage against both of the others… well, he wasn't exactly set up for success. Of course, he knew something was bound to happen with Kate Ross this year as well, it was how things went with DADA professors, but that didn't mean that he hadn't felt bad. Kate was, after all, a fellow fighter against the dark around the world and a good person to boot. What he hadn't expected, however, was for Harry himself to be complicit in it. Whatever "it" was. Tonight's visit to their detention together told him that whatever it was most definitely had to do with the war and clearly, the two were rather close for two people who had only known each other for a few months. A little too close, in his opinion.

He hadn't missed the secret smiles the two had shared in the Great Hall over the weeks, nor the way Harry seemed to be Kate's biggest supporter amongst the students, a feat considering the Master Curse Breaker's popularity, and the way Kate herself seemed to encourage his company, even on her birthday, which had been celebrated with much more fanfare than he had ever seen be thrown a Professor's direction. Not that any of the staff had been in the slightest bit jealous...really Albus had been the only one who hadn't been bothered by it. Merlin knew the last thing he wanted to be reminded of was his age, no, what bothered him was how quickly Harry had trusted Kate, dangerously quick, considering they were at war and her motivations were yet unknown, for all he knew Voldemort had managed to recruit her, she was young enough to be gullible, not to mention that Drake Herr had probably not given her any reason to like he, Albus Dumbledore, very much.

Albus appreciated that he was at least partly to blame for Harry's sudden attachment to Kate, undoubtedly he felt he could only trust the new player. Albus _had _been the one to isolate him and that meant that he probably did not like Albus very much right now, or anyone who was associated with him in any way. Only in the very far reaches of his mind would he admit that he hoped very much that this was the only reason he was feeling like he was being replaced, or maybe that he had been a stand in for someone else, which apparently Kate could do much better than he. But that fear went unacknowledged.

He had committed to keeping a distance with Harry and if he would continue to do so, this was a consequence he would have to deal with. Harry would not rely on him anymore and he was better off unneeded by Harry, it would protect both of them. No, what was concerning was Kate. What exactly were her intentions? What did she want? What did she gain from training Harry personally? Was that the real reason why she had applied to be DADA teacher? Was she doing this for the American government? For her own influence over the boy-who-lived? Dare he wonder if she was working with Voldemort?

It seemed far-fetched and ridiculous but he'd dealt with more impossible scenarios before, Sirius was a perfect example of that. But duelling lessons-

...this, also, could be good for them. It changed things, that was for sure.

Harry would hopefully be more prepared to face Voldemort when he one day had to. He would be safer in the meantime, spending all his free time doing homework or learning how to duel with Kate Ross, no matter her motives….. right?

A/N: REVIEW!


	33. Chapter 33: Kate Ross

Chapter 33: Kate Ross

December arrived, bringing with it more snow and an avalanche of homework for the fifth years. Ron and Hermione's prefect duties also became more and more onerous as Christmas approached. They were called upon to supervise the decoration of the castle ("You try putting up tinsel when Peeves has got the other end and is trying to strangle you with it," said Ron), to watch over first and second years spending their break times inside because of the bitter cold ("And they're cheeky little snotrags, you know, we definitely weren't that rude when we were in first year," said Ron), and to patrol the corridors in shifts with Argus Filch, who suspected that the holiday spirit might show itself in an outbreak of wizard duels ("He's got dung for brains, that one," said Ron furiously). Even their research on the Charter became harder to find time for, but for the first time in his school career, he very much wanted to spend the holidays away from Hogwarts. Specifically with Kate at the Ranch.

His detentions with Kate had stopped as Umbridge had taken to practically stalking him and even Kate (who he was pretty sure was still keeping something from him, something that bothered her big time), but did not assign him anymore detentions. They were both sure that she had found out about their duelling lessons but needed time to figure out what to do. She had started being rather cold to Kate as well. Even Educational Decree Number Twenty-six hadn't stopped their lessons though, which banned teachers from giving students any information that was not what they were paid to teach. They simply did it after curfew now. On the bright side, it seemed stalking them had slowed down the toad's progress on destroying the staff, unfortunately that was not to last.

"Gather roun', gather roun'," said Hagrid encouragingly. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' the meat but I'm goin' ter give 'em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me. . . ." He turned, shook his shaggy head to get the hair out of his face, and gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird.

Nobody in Harry, Ron, and Hermione's Care of Magical Creatures class laughed; most of them looked too scared to make a sound. Hagrid gave the shrieking cry again.

A minute passed in which the class continued to peer nervously over their shoulders and around trees for a first glimpse of whatever it was that was coming. And then, as Hagrid shook his hair back for a third time and expanded his enormous chest, Harry nudged Ron and pointed into the black space between two gnarled yew trees. A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck, and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It looked around at the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs. A great wave of relief broke over Harry. Here at last was proof that he had not imagined these creatures from the first night back, that they were real: Hagrid knew about them too.

He looked eagerly at Ron, but Ron was still staring around into the trees and after a few seconds he whispered, "Why doesn't Hagrid call again?"

Most of the rest of the class were wearing expressions as confused and nervously expectant as Ron's and were still gazing everywhere but at the horse standing feet from them. There were only two other people who seemed to be able to see them: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle was watching the horse eating with an expression of great distaste on his face, and Neville, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail.

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" said Hagrid proudly, as a second black horse appeared out of the dark trees, folded its leathery wings closer to its body, and dipped its head to gorge on the meat. "Now . . . put yer hands up, who can see 'em?"

Immensely pleased to feel that he was at last going to understand the mystery of these horses, Harry raised his hand. Hagrid nodded at him.

"Yeah . . . yeah, I knew you'd be able ter, Harry," he said seriously. "An' you too, Neville, eh? An' —"

"Excuse me," said Malfoy in a sneering voice, "but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

For answer, Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped and Parvati squealed. Harry understood why: Bits of flesh stripping themselves away from the bones and vanishing into thin air had to look very odd indeed.

"What's doing it?" Parvati demanded in a terrified voice, retreating behind the nearest tree. "What's eating it?"

"Thestrals," said Hagrid proudly and Hermione gave a soft "oh!" of comprehension at Harry's shoulder. "Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows — ?"

So Luna had been right.

"But they're really, really unlucky!" interrupted Parvati, looking alarmed. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once —"

"No, no, no," said Hagrid, chuckling, "tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful! 'Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate — an' here's another couple, look —"

Two more horses came quietly out of the trees, one of them passing very close to Parvati, who shivered and pressed herself closer to the tree, saying, "I think I felt something, I think it's near me!"

"Don' worry, it won' hurt yeh," said Hagrid patiently. "Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' you can see them an' some can't?"

Hermione raised her hand.

"Go on then," said Hagrid, beaming at her.

"The only people who can see thestrals," she said, "are people who have seen death."

"Tha's exactly right," said Hagrid solemnly, "ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, thestrals —"

"Hem, hem." Professor Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready. Hagrid, who had never heard Umbridge's fake cough before, was gazing in some concern at the closest thestral, evidently under the impression that it had made the sound. "Hem, hem."

"Oh hello!" Hagrid said, smiling, having located the source of the noise.

"You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?" said Umbridge, in the same loud, slow voice she had used with him earlier, as though she was addressing somebody both foreign and very slow. "Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?"

"Oh yeah," said Hagrid brightly. "Glad yeh found the place all righ'! Well, as you can see — or, I dunno — can you? We're doin' thestrals today —"

"I'm sorry?" said Umbridge loudly, cupping her hand around her ear and frowning. "What did you say?"

Hagrid looked a little confused. "Er — thestrals!" he said loudly. "Big — er — winged horses, yeh know!" He flapped his gigantic arms hopefully.

Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows at him and muttered as she made a note on her clipboard, " 'has . . . to . . . resort . . . to . . . crude . . . sign . . . language . . .' "

"Well . . . anyway . . ." said Hagrid, turning back to the class and looking slightly flustered. "Erm...what was I sayin'?"

" 'Appears . . . to . . . have . . . poor . . . short . . . term . . . memory . . .' " muttered Umbridge, loudly enough for everyone to hear her. Draco Malfoy looked as though Christmas had come a few weeks early; It was almost Christmas break as it were.

Hermione, on the other hand, had turned scarlet with suppressed rage.

"Oh yeah," said Hagrid, throwing an uneasy glance at Umbridge's clipboard, but plowing on valiantly. "Yeah, I was gonna tell yeh how come we got a herd. Yeah, so, we started off with a male an' five females. This one," he patted the first horse to have appeared, "name o' Tenebrus, he's my special favorite, firs' one born here in the forest —"

"Are you aware," Umbridge said loudly, interrupting him, "that the Ministry of Magic has classified thestrals as 'dangerous'?"

Harry's heart sank like a stone, but Hagrid merely chuckled. "Thestrals aren' dangerous! All righ, they might take a bite outta you if yeh really annoy them —"

" 'Shows . . . signs . . . of . . . pleasure . . . at . . . idea . . . of . . . violence . . . ' " muttered Umbridge, scribbling on her clipboard again.

"No — come on!" said Hagrid, looking a little anxious now. "I mean, a dog'll bite if yeh bait it, won' it — but thestrals have jus' got a bad reputation because o' the death thing — people used ter think they were bad omens, didn' they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?"

Umbridge did not answer; she finished writing her last note, then looked up at Hagrid and said, again very loudly and slowly, "Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk" — she mimed walking — Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were having silent fits of laughter — "among the students" — she pointed around at individual members of the class — "and ask them questions." She pointed at her mouth to indicate talking.

Hagrid stared at her, clearly at a complete loss to understand why she was acting as though he did not understand normal English.

Hermione had tears of fury in her eyes now. "You hag, you evil hag!" she whispered, as Umbridge walked toward Pansy Parkinson. "I know what you're doing, you awful, twisted, vicious —"

"Erm . . . anyway," said Hagrid, clearly struggling to regain the flow of his lesson, "so — thestrals. Yeah. Well, there's loads o' good stuff abou' them. . . ."

"Do you find," said Professor Umbridge in a ringing voice to Pansy Parkinson, "that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?"

Just like Hermione, Pansy had tears in her eyes, but these were tears of laughter; indeed, her answer was almost incoherent because she was trying to suppress her giggles. "No . . . because . . . well . . . it sounds . . . like grunting a lot of the time. . . ."

Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard.

The few unbruised bits of Hagrid's face flushed, but he tried to act as though he had not heard Pansy's answer. "Er . . . yeah . . . good stuff abou' thestrals. Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, yeh'll never be lost again. 'Mazin' senses o' direction, jus' tell 'em where yeh want ter go —"

"Assuming they can understand you, of course," said Malfoy loudly, and Pansy Parkinson collapsed in a fit of renewed giggles.

Professor Umbridge smiled indulgently at them and then turned to Neville. "You can see the thestrals, Longbottom, can you?" she said. Neville nodded.

"Whom did you see die?" she asked, her tone indifferent.

"My . . . my grandad," said Neville.

"And what do you think of them?" she said, waving her stubby hand at the horses, who by now had stripped a great deal of the carcass down to bone.

"Erm," said Neville nervously, with a glance at Hagrid. "Well, they're . . . er . . . okay. . . ."

" 'Students . . . are . . . too . . . intimidated . . . to . . . admit . . . they . . . are . . . frightened. . . .' " muttered Umbridge, making another note on her clipboard.

"No!" said Neville, looking upset, "no, I'm not scared of them — !"

"It's quite all right," said Umbridge, patting Neville on the shoulder with what she evidently intended to be an understanding smile, though it looked more like a leer to Harry. "Well, Hagrid," she turned to look up at him again, speaking once more in that loud, slow voice, "I think I've got enough to be getting along with. . . . You will receive" — she mimed taking something from the air in front of her — "the results of your inspection" — she pointed at the clipboard — "in ten days' time." She held up ten stubby little fingers, then, her smile wider and more toadlike than ever before beneath her green hat, she bustled from their midst, leaving Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson in fits of laughter, Hermione actually shaking with fury, and Neville looking confused and upset.

"That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!" stormed Hermione half an hour later, as they made their way back up to the castle through the channels they had made earlier in the snow. "You see what she's up to? It's her thing about half-breeds all over again — she's trying to make out Hagrid's some kind of dim-witted troll, just because he had a giantess for a mother — and oh, it's not fair, that really wasn't a bad lesson at all — I mean, all right, if it had been Blast-Ended Skrewts again, but thestrals are fine — in fact, for Hagrid, they're really good!"

"Umbridge said they're dangerous," said Ron.

"Well, it's like Hagrid said, they can look after themselves," said Hermione impatiently, "and I suppose a teacher like Grubbly-Plank wouldn't usually show them to us before N.E.W.T. level, but, well, they are very interesting, aren't they? The way some people can see them and some can't! I wish I could."

"Do you?" Harry asked her quietly. She looked horrorstruck. "Oh Harry — I'm sorry — no, of course I don't — that was a really stupid thing to say —"

"It's okay," he said quickly, "don't worry. . . ."

"I'm surprised so many people could see them," said Ron. "Three in a class..." (Rowling OotP chapt 21-22)

"Wonder what took Umbridge so long to come pick on Hagrid anyway?" Harry mused bitterly.

"Kate's been pranking her, I think. There's no way Fred and George could've set up wards through the whole castle that only respond to her magical signature." Hermione said, referencing the pranks that had hit Umbridge for most of November. It seemed as though every time she walked through any kind of doorway that her hair turned neon blue, her pink clothing turned black, or her skin turned to the exact shade of a toad but no-one seemed to know why or how, until Dumbledore had finally asked whoever was tampering with the school wards to stop. Even then, Ron's brothers seemed to be Umbridge's primary suspect, but many students knew better. Pity none of them seemed to care enough to tell anyone.

"We've got to make some progress tonight." Harry's mind jumped to another pressing issue. His friends agreed and later that day they found themselves once again in the Hogwarts Library.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione split up as soon as they entered. Hermione broke straight for the law section of the library, while Harry and Ron went to the history section. They all knew the drill at this point and did not even need to exchange words as they moved, eventually meeting again at their table and pulling out their notes.

They began their work quickly and continued for several hours.

Sometime during the evening, Harry was making his way to the Potions section when he was stopped.

"Wotcher Harry!" A bright voice exclaimed.

Harry spun around and was met with the cheery face of Tonks.

"Hello, Tonks." He said awkwardly, "Er-what're you doing here?"

"I had to drop something off with Dumbledore." Tonks said, "What are you doing?" She peered at him suspiciously.

"Doing an, a, an essay, on- this book actually." Harry floundered pulling out a book at random and holding it up.

Unfortunately, the title of the book happened to be _Teen Mom: Everything You Need to Know Before You Give Birth_.

Harry blushed scarlet as he couldn't quite manage to meet the young auror's eyes.

"_Right_." Tonks said, turning her head to hide her laughter. "Ok, Harry. I'll leave you to it then…"

She gave him a thump on the shoulder and left him standing there staring at the book in his hand.

_**LATER THAT NIGHT 12 GRIMMAULD PLACE**_

"Harry was doing something odd today." Nymphadora Tonks reported.

That got the attention of the entire meeting as they all turned to look at her.

Sirius Black perked up at the mention of his godson and made sure he was listening carefully, would this be a clue in his own search into Harry's lesser known friends?

Jake Castillo also snapped his head up and looked at the young auror, his expression one of carefully formed curiosity. He forced himself not to panic and get ahead of himself, worrying that their cover had been blown. He was not used to having to trust so many people to keep up a charade, even if there was no one he trusted more than those involved this time.

Albus Dumbledore turned his attention to one of the Order's newer members with carefully hidden interest. He swept his eyes over the other order members to gauge their interest before he focused completely on Nymphadora. Sirius looked interested, but perhaps that was easily attributed to his otherwise lack of involvement at the moment and the subject matter. He was not sure if this report would, in any way, help him solve the puzzle that was Kate and Harry's relationship. Right now he'd settled in simply letting it play out and keeping a closer eye on the pair, but that hadn't yielded anything of concern. The only thing he'd noticed was just how much time Harry seemed to spend with her. If the notion wasn't so ridiculous, considering the parties involved, he'd wonder if they were having an affair. That, of course, would be the last thing he'd want because then he'd have to fire Kate, who was by far the best DADA Professor Hogwarts had seen whilst he'd been alive, but also because that would most certainly hurt Harry in some way. Or let it go on, which he couldn't do either.

He really hoped it wasn't that.

"Oh? What was Mr. Potter up to today?" Albus prodded.

"He, Ron, and Hermione, nearly ransacked the library today, looking for a charter, it sounded like. Tracing its path through history. Or writing an essay on teen pregnancy."

Albus's brain froze for a fraction of a second, while Jake had to hide a blanch. They all ignored her essay wisecrack and focused on the charter.

Jake couldn't believe Harry had been caught, but then again, since when did they follow him? Had this happened behind his back? Were they tailing Harry now?

Thankfully Remus asked for him. "Why were you watching Harry?"

Tonks shrugged and blushed, "I was giving Albus my report and I was on my way back down the Entrance Hall when I saw them sneaking around and er- I decided to follow and then I stayed for a while and...well, there you have it."

Silence reigned as people digested this, but not for long.

"Why would they be looking for a charter?" Bill Weasley asked cautiously, like he almost didn't want to know what his brother and his friends were getting up to this time. No one could really blame him, having heard the stories themselves.

"Albus, you don't think they were looking for the _Hogwarts' _Charter, do you?" Minerva McGonagall asked in alarm.

"I certainly hope not." Albus answered her gravely.

Jake hid his surprise at that exchange while the rest of the Order looked openly curious. What did they know about the Hogwarts Charter? Jake wondered.

"Hope not?" Someone from one of the rows farther back asked.

Snape answered, "Well if they are that means that they most certainly got the foolish notion from Ross."

"Ross?" Sirius pounced on the name.

"Kate Ross, the DADA teacher this year. She brought it up in a staff meeting several months ago." Filius Flitwick supplied, looking thoughtful.

Albus, Jake noticed, frowned deeply as he turned the idea over in his head. Finally the Headmaster spoke again. "I will deal with this." He declared, to everyone's surprise. This seemed like something he would delegate because it was not directly related to the war effort, but then again, it did involve Harry Potter, someone he was known for being rather protective of.

If Albus's reaction was curiousity then Sirius's was a downright shock. His eyes widened and his mouth flew open before he abruptly schooled his features as he snapped his head to stare meaningfully at Jake. No one really noticed his reaction, except Jake who had a very bad feeling about it.

Sirius had indeed just connected some very important dots. Kate...her first name was Kate. And she was the new DADA professor this year, who apparently had enough influence with his godson that he was willing to go to research certain, dubious, topics for her. This was alarming and interesting. He'd have to learn more about Kate Ross, more than the gushing he'd heard from fellow Order members anyway.

Could it be her? Could he have found the mystery girl? Had she been right there the whole time? From what he could tell, she was a 20-something year old from the states, so he supposed he could forgive himself for not immediately thinking that a random girl would be so close to his godson, but… There she was, a professor at Hogwarts the year after Voldemort returned.

One thing was for sure, he needed to talk to Jake, who would probably know more about Professor Ross than he did.

Indeed, he cornered him as soon as possible.

"Jake," He hissed, "want to take a walk?"

Jake jumped when he spoke and turned to face him slowly. Sirius didn't know the panic the man was fighting even as he gave an easy smile and said, "Sure."

Once they were in a room secured with copious privacy wards, Sirius was fit to burst with what he had figured out.

"Kate, the girl we've been looking for, is the Hogwarts DADA professor." Sirius said seriously.

Jake laughed. "What? You think Harry is friends, personal, close friends with Kate Ross?"

Sirius frowned, "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because it's Kate Ross?" Jake retorted with a snort.

"Why would that matter?" Sirius demanded, "I keep hearing everyone gush about Professor Ross, whose first name I didn't know was Kate until today, mind, but I don't get it. She's like 19, what the hell is the big deal? Sure she's young, but really…"

Jake gaped at him for a moment, "You're kidding."

Sirius was now confused, "Is that supposed to be sarcasm?"

"No." Jake said bluntly. "Kate Ross…" He began pacing the room, "Is 23 years old, has defeated seven Dark Lords, liberated a solid three different countries, has a mastery in curse breaking from Drake Herr, won the International Duelling Cup series 9 times in a 9 year career that started when she was 12, she is responsible for the invention of tons of spells, wards, and potions, is widely considered one of the most powerful witches of all time, and maybe the greatest duellist ever. She also happens to be a celebrity due to her notoriously good personality."

Sirius blinked, "Oh."

"And her younger sister is one of the best professional quidditch players in a long time…"

"So she's a big deal?" Sirius asked a little faintly.

"Yes."

"But I still know that she's the one I'm looking for, it just fits too well."

"Damn." Jake cursed.

_**AFTER THE ORDER MEETING IN HOGWARTS' HEADMASTER'S OFFICE**_

Albus Dumbledore would be lying if he said that what he'd heard at the Order meeting didn't alarm him. Sirius was clearly up to something, Jake was beginning to seem to know more than himself about things he probably shouldn't know anything about, and Harry was in danger of dealing a serious blow to the fight against Voldemort, probably unwittingly, but nevertheless, Ross needed to go. Her influence on him seemed to be stronger than he'd thought and she was putting Harry in danger, and Albus couldn't allow that. He'd have no choice but to speak to the boy.

A/N::: REVIEW!


	34. Chapter 34: Nagini

Chapter 34: Nagini

_Kate had to practically drag Harry into her room when he came home from school. His eyes were cast downwards and his face drawn as his shoulders shook slightly. Silence reigned for several minutes as Kate tried to prod the problem out of him. Eventually he cracked._

"_Why don't they love me?" He asked her earnestly, heartbreakingly. "Everyone else, even Dudley and Piers' families love them, but not me? What's wrong with me? Why doesn't anyone love me? What did I do, Kate? Why does no one care about me?"_

_Tears crept down his face as he looked at her desperately, wanting to know, why him?_

_Kate felt tears burn her own eyes as she stared down at Harry, his hair still sticking all over the place despite the mood in the room and his glasses sliding down from the tears. His cheeks were red and his eyes looked impossibly big, even as he fought to keep himself from breaking down into sobs._

_Her jaw clench with rage, anger, sadness, and affection towards Harry. "I don't know what's wrong with the Dursleys, Harry, but there is nothing wrong with you. I love you, Jamie loves you, Mum and Dad love you, Cella, Lily, Frankie, Jake and Kenna and Tiff love you. We are your family and we love you."_

Kate had a lump in her throat watching the scene over and over again, for no real reason other than to remind herself what this whole mess was for. She couldn't help but hate and resent everyone around her who claimed to care about her brother...Black, Dumbledore, even the Weasleys...they knew _nothing_. Nothing about her brother and nothing about her. They, the British wizarding world failed Harry, they left a little boy wondering why he was not loved by anyone who was supposed to care, and that was, in her eyes, _unforgivable_. She ground her teeth together and forced her eyes back to her research. She would prevail and she'd get her brother out of here. And Merlin couldn't help anyone who got in her way.

She turned her thoughts to the Horcruxes and the elusive final horcrux. She had decided that the final one was probably a recent addition if it had even been created.

It was simple really. One does not accidentally split their soul, there are preparations involved which means that in order for Voldemort to have his seven part soul he needed six horcruxes, so he would have made five horcruxes prior to Halloween 1981. He had probably also planned on making Harry's death his final horcrux but since it blew up in his face (literally) he would have assumed he failed, for he certainly had no reason to think otherwise. He was completely unaware of his special connection with Harry, after all.

This meant that he'd want to make his final horcrux pretty soon to complete his seven part soul, a vain hope against the threat Harry posed, no doubt. That left the horcrux to be something that was of value to him...well she knew what murder he'd probably done it with. So far he'd really only killed Frank Bryce, Bertha Jorkins, and Cedric Diggory, from the research she'd been able to do. Harry would've noticed if Voldemort had done the horcrux ritual in the graveyard, either he'd remember a weird ritual or because with Harry's connection to Voldemort, he would have gotten a vision if he was unconscious. And the only murder he'd gotten a vision of was Frank Bryce's. This meant that it had to be something in that room.

Unfortunately, Harry hadn't gotten a good view of anything in that room so she had no clue what it could be. And it wouldn't really help her primary goal either, to search for it.

On the Harry front, once she'd realized that Voldemort had taken his blood, that had opened up so many new possibilities that led her to look into the blood protection Lily had provided him. Right now, the idea with the highest probability of working would be for Harry to sacrifice himself to save someone he loved and get hit with a killing curse. She was not going to let her little brother get hit by a killing curse because it had the "highest probability" of working. Not a snowball's chance in hell.

She would have to keep working on it.

She would also have to figure out how to explain everything to Sirius Black, whom she was set to meet Wednesday night because Jake was out of options for hiding their identities.

She knew Harry would want to tell the man the truth, even though she had some reservations about it. But he was supposedly a good man, and if Harry was right about his issues with Albus, then he could be ah-_persuaded _not to tell the old headmaster.

Speaking of persuasion, Draco Malfoy, she had decided this week, was a weak, stubborn, cowardly, and spoiled fool. But he was learning, via his own desire to protect himself above all others, and lack of familiarity with reality, beginning to realize, through the research she had been forcing him to do in detention, that siding with the Dark Lords never ended well. Finally.

She knew he still hated her brother, but at least he had a little more respect for the light side in general, especially seeing as, obviously, they had never lost a war. While the dark had never won. The revelation that none of the most powerful wizards of all times in terms of sheer power had been purebloods was simply an added bonus. He had to have a long think about his beliefs and principles, which hadn't totally changed. But they were better than they had been.

_**THE WEDNESDAY MORNING BEFORE CHRISTMAS BREAK-DUMBLEDORE'S OFFICE**_

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Harry asked as he walked into the Headmaster's office. He had been quite curious when he'd found a note on his bedside saying that Dumbledore wanted to see him before class and that he liked Chocolate Frogs. He was so curious in fact, that he hadn't even told Kate before running up to see the Headmaster, figuring he could tell her later.

Dumbledore was seated across from him, fingers intertwined on the parchment he had been examining when Harry entered. He surveyed him over his half-moon spectacles in a way that made Harry, yet again, feel like he was being x-rayed. He did not feel any incursion in his Occlumency shields, though he wasn't sure that if Dumbledore had really wanted to breach his shields, Harry would be able to stop him. He didn't really want to find out.

"Indeed, my boy." He said gravely, his eyes weren't twinkling, Harry noted with a start. This little detail made the whole room feel dark and tense. "I hope that you've had as enjoyable a term as possible, thus far, considering the circumstances?"

"Yes, sir." Harry concurred, mind clashing briefly to Quidditch, Kate, and the DA. The last DA meeting had gone rather well, in his opinion. They'd been going over various hexes that Kate had recommended they learn and their counters to review what they'd done thus far.

"Excellent." Dumbledore said, sounding genuinely pleased. "And how have your classes been going?"

"Good, sir." Harry answered, wondering when they would get to the point and confused as to why Dumbledore was asking him in the first place.

The older man nodded seriously. "And how has Professor Ross been this year? Any plots I should know of?" He asked dryly.

"No, no! She's really great." Harry exclaimed, before realizing Dumbledore had been, at least partially, joking. The Headmaster's lips twitched.

"Should I know of any?" Harry asked eventually, if only to prove that he understood the joke.

Dumbledore frowned slightly. If Harry hadn't been watching his expression he'd have missed it, in fact. "I would like you to minimize your contact with her, Harry." He said after a moment, all amusement gone from his face.

"What? Why?" Harry demanded before thinking. Great way to keep your relationship on the down low, Potter.

Dumbledore gave him a grave look, "I believe that she is not as trustworthy as many students think she is." He told him bluntly, "Unfortunately, even I have found myself forgetting, from time to time, that Professor Ross is neither a member of the Order nor someone anyone here has gotten the opportunity to get to know before this year."

Harry gaped at him for a moment as he processed what he was hearing before a fiery rage rose inside of him and he could feel his face heating up in response. If he had stopped to think about it, he'd have realized that his reaction was only adding to his headmaster's suspicions.

He did not.

"That's ridiculous!" He exclaimed furiously. "Professor Ross is the best Professor here!"

Dumbledore did not react to the statement that was, in part, meant to be a shot at him as well. "She is a rather persuasive teacher, isn't she?"

"She's a genius, if that's what you mean." Harry said coolly. "And she is really nice to everyone and really funny. She also doesn't make my scar hurt."

Granted, nothing really made his scar hurt nowadays.

Dumbledore lifted an eyebrow and said, "Of course she is charming, Harry."

Harry glared at him, "So you want me not to trust anyone who is too nice?"

"That's not what I meant." Dumbledore corrected softly, "I wish you would be more wary of people you do not know. The past has more than proven that, despite my best efforts to protect you, danger still lurks. Especially with Voldemort's return, it would not do to lower your guard."

Harry deflated a touch at that. "But-but Professor Ross isn't-"

"Maybe not." Dumbledore conceded, "But maybe she is. I do not wish to see you hurt, Harry. I think you've had to deal with quite enough the last few years as it is."

Harry didn't really have anything to say to that, so he simply grunted. "Fine."

Despite Harry's rather rude answer, Dumbledore smiled slightly, and said, "Thank you, my boy."

"Is that all?" Harry half demanded, standing.

"You would also do well to abandon your search for the Hogwarts Charter." Dumbledore told him.

"What?" Harry played dumb.

Dumbledore seemed amused, "You know what I'm talking about."

Harry glared at him. There really wasn't any point in trying to lie to the man.

"Can I go?"

Dumbledore inclined his head. "You may leave if you would like."

Harry turned on heel and stalked from the room, seething.

_**THAT NIGHT**_

The conversation with Dumbledore preyed on Harry's thoughts the whole day, leaving Harry abnormally subdued. Kate has been shooting him concerned looks by lunch and Ron and Hermione had pestered him all day to tell them what was wrong. He didn't tell them because he wasn't ready and he couldn't tell Kate in case Dumbledore somehow tracked their interactions or something. He also hadn't decided what he was going to do about the whole thing, especially considering he was flying solo in this. Merlin, he needed to stop watching Kate's American movies.

Part of him was still furious, while other parts were confused and suspicious. He wasn't sure what had prompted this talk and that scared him. Had he messed up somehow? Obviously.

He strained his mind for something amiss but could only really think of two things: Sirius's odd questions and the visit from Tonks. But Sirius was well in hand, according to Jake, anyway, and he didn't seem likely to tell Dumbledore anything like this nowadays.

As for Tonks, she hadn't really seen or heard anything incriminating, had she? How could they connect it to his sister? They shouldn't be able to. He was so preoccupied by his thoughts that he didn't even notice his sister's absence at dinner.

Nor did he remember to meditate before bed.

_His body felt smooth, powerful, and flexible. He was gliding between shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone. . . . He was flat against the floor, sliding along on his belly. . . . It was dark, yet he could see objects around him shimmering in strange, vibrant colors. . . . He was turning his head. . . . At first glance, the corridor was empty . . . but no . . . a man was sitting on the floor ahead, his outline gleaming in the dark. . . .Harry put out his tongue. . . . He tasted the man's scent on the air. . . . He was alive. . . sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor . . .Harry longed to bite the man . . . but he must master the impulse. . . . He had more important work to do. . . .But the man was stirring . . . a silvery cloak fell from his legs as he jumped to his feet; and Harry saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, saw a wand withdrawn from a holster. . . . He had no choice. . . . He reared high from the floor and attempted to strike…_

_The man was yelling. . . then he swung with a blade that had come from seemingly nowhere. . . Harry crashed to the ground. . . . Blood was splattering onto the floor. . . .Harry struck out … as if with his dying breath he bit into the mamma clothing…His forehead hurt terribly. . . . It was aching fit to burst. . . ._

"Harry! HARRY!"

He opened his eyes. Every inch of his body was covered in icy sweat; his bed covers were twisted all around him like a straitjacket; he felt as though a white-hot poker was being applied to his forehead.

"Harry!"

Ron was standing over him looking extremely frightened. There were more figures at the foot of Harry's bed. He clutched his head in his hands; the pain was blinding him. . . . He rolled right over and vomited over the edge of the mattress.

"He's really ill," said a scared voice. "Should we call someone?" "Harry! Harry!"

He had to tell Ron, it was very important that he tell him. . . . Taking great gulps of air, Harry pushed himself up in bed, willing himself not to throw up again, the pain half-blinding him.

"Jake," he panted, his chest heaving. "Jake's . . . been attacked. . . ."

"What?" said Ron uncomprehendingly.

"Jake! He's been attacked, it's serious, there was blood everywhere. . . ."

"I'm going for help," said the same scared voice, and Harry heard footsteps running out of the dormitory.

"Harry, mate," said Ron uncertainly, "you . . . you were just dreaming. . . ."

"No!" said Harry furiously; it was crucial that Ron understand. "It wasn't a dream . . . not an ordinary dream. . . . I was there, I saw it. ...I did it...Where's Ka-Ross?"

He could hear Seamus and Dean muttering but did not care. The pain in his forehead was subsiding slightly, though he was still sweat- ing and shivering feverishly. He retched again and Ron leapt backward out of the way.

"Harry, you're not well," he said shakily. "Neville's gone for help. . . But Professor Ross isn't in the castle tonight…"

"I'm fine!" Harry choked, wiping his mouth on his pajamas and shaking uncontrollably. "There's nothing wrong with me, it's Jake you've got to worry about — we need to find out where he is — someone was bleeding like mad — I was — it was a huge snake. . . ."

He tried to get out of bed but Ron pushed him back into it; Dean and Seamus were still whispering somewhere nearby. Whether one minute passed or ten, Harry did not know; he simply sat there shaking, feeling the pain recede very slowly from his scar. . . . Then there were hurried footsteps coming up the stairs, and he heard Neville's voice again.

"Over here, Professor . . ."

Professor McGonagall came hurrying into the dormitory in her tar- tan dressing gown, her glasses perched lopsidedly on the bridge of her bony nose. "What is it, Potter? Where does it hurt?"

He had never been so pleased to see her; it was a member of the Order of the Phoenix he needed now, not someone fussing over him and prescribing useless potions.

"It's Jake," he said, sitting up again. "He's been attacked by a snake and it looked really bloody, I saw it happen."

"What do you mean, you saw it happen?" said Professor McGonagall, her dark eyebrows contracting.

"I don't know. . . . I was asleep and then I was there. . . ."

"You mean you dreamed this?"

"No!" said Harry angrily. Would none of them understand? "I was having a dream at first about something completely different, something stupid . . . and then this interrupted it. It was real, I didn't imagine it, Jake was sitting there, on the floor, and he was attacked by a gigantic snake, there was a load of blood, he slashed at the snake, someone's got to find out where he is. . ."

Professor McGonagall was gazing at him through her lopsided spectacles as though horrified at what she was seeing.

"I'm not lying, and I'm not mad!" Harry told her, his voice rising to a shout. "I tell you, I saw it happen!"

"I believe you, Potter," said Professor McGonagall curtly. "Put on your dressing-gown — we're going to see the headmaster."

Harry snapped his Occlumency shields into place.

_**A FEW MINUTES LATER IN THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE**_

Dumbledore was sitting in a high-backed chair behind his desk; he leaned forward into the pool of candlelight illuminating the papers laid out before him. He was wearing a magnificently embroidered purple-and-gold dressing gown over a snowy-white nightshirt, but seemed wide awake, his penetrating light-blue eyes fixed intently upon Professor McGonagall.

"Professor Dumbledore, Potter has had a . . . well, a nightmare," said Professor McGonagall. "He says . . ."

"It wasn't a nightmare," said Harry quickly.

Professor McGonagall looked around at Harry, frowning slightly. "Very well, then, Potter, you tell the headmaster about it."

"I . . . well, I was asleep. . . ." said Harry, and even in his terror and his desperation to make Dumbledore understand, he felt slightly irritated that the headmaster was not looking at him, but examining his own interlocked fingers. "But it wasn't an ordinary dream . . . it was real. . . . I saw it happen. . . ." He took a deep breath, "Jake — Lord Castillo— has been attacked by a giant snake."

The words seemed to reverberate in the air after he had said them, slightly ridiculous, even comic. There was a pause in which Dumbledore leaned back and stared meditatively at the ceiling. Ron looked from Harry to Dumbledore, white-faced and shocked.

"How did you see this?" Dumbledore asked quietly, still not look- ing at Harry.

"Well . . . I don't know," said Harry, rather angrily — what did it matter? "Inside my head, I suppose, I was still upset and my shields were down —"

"You misunderstand me," said Dumbledore, still in the same calm tone. "I mean . . . can you remember — er — where you were positioned as you watched this attack happen? Were you perhaps standing beside the victim, or else looking down on the scene from above?"

This was such a curious question that Harry gaped at Dumbledore; it was almost as though he knew . . .

"I was the snake," he said. "I saw it all from the snake's point of view. . . ."

Nobody else spoke for a moment, then Dumbledore, now looking at Ron, who was still whey-faced, said in a new and sharper voice, "Is Jake seriously injured?"

"I don't know, he stabbed the snake— I'm pretty sure it died." said Harry uncertainly — why were they all so slow on the uptake, did they not realize how much blood there was when a person was bitten by a snake? And why could Dumbledore not do him the courtesy of looking at him?

But Dumbledore stood up so quickly that Harry jumped, and addressed one of the old portraits hanging very near the ceiling.

"Everard?" he said sharply. "And you too, Dilys!"

A sallow-faced wizard with short, black bangs and an elderly witch with long silver ringlets in the frame beside him, both of whom seemed to have been in the deepest of sleeps, opened their eyes immediately.

"You were listening?" said Dumbledore.

The wizard nodded, the witch said, "Naturally."

"The man is young and has dark hair," said Dumbledore. "Everard, you will need to raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the right people —"

Both nodded and moved sideways out of their frames, but instead of emerging in neighboring pictures (as usually happened at Hogwarts), neither reappeared; one frame now contained nothing but a backdrop of dark curtain, the other a handsome leather armchair. Harry noticed that many of the other headmasters and mistresses on the walls, though snoring and drooling most convincingly, kept sneaking peeks at him under their eyelids, and he suddenly understood who had been talking when they had knocked.

"Everard and Dilys were two of Hogwarts's most celebrated Heads," Dumbledore said, now sweeping around Harry, Ron, and Professor McGonagall and approaching the magnificent sleeping bird on his perch beside the door. "Their renown is such that both have portraits hanging in other important Wizarding institutions. As they are free to move between their own portraits they can tell us what may be happening elsewhere..."

"But Jake could be anywhere!" said Harry. He had a feeling he knew where he was anyway, the Department of Mysteries. For all the good it would do Voldemort.

"Please sit down, all three of you," said Dumbledore, as though Harry had not spoken.

"Everard and Dilys may not be back for several minutes. . . . Professor McGonagall, if you could draw up extra chairs . . ."

Professor McGonagall pulled her wand from the pocket of her dressing gown and waved it; three chairs appeared out of thin air, straight-backed and wooden, quite unlike the comfortable chintz armchairs that Dumbledore had conjured back at Harry's hearing.

Harry sat down, watching Dumbledore over his shoulder. Dumbledore was now stroking Fawkes's plumed golden head with one finger. The phoenix awoke immediately. He stretched his beautiful head high and observed Dumbledore through bright, dark eyes.

"We will need," said Dumbledore very quietly to the bird, "a warning."

There was a flash of fire and the phoenix had gone.

A/N:::REVIEW!


	35. Chapter 35: In The Dead of Night

Chapter 35: In the Dead of Night

Dumbledore now swooped down upon one of the fragile silver instruments whose function Harry had never known, carried it over to his desk, sat down facing them again, and tapped it gently with the tip of his wand.

The instrument tinkled into life at once with rhythmic clinking noises. Tiny puffs of pale green smoke issued from the minuscule silver tube at the top. Dumbledore watched the smoke closely, his brow furrowed, and after a few seconds, the tiny puffs became a steady stream of smoke that thickened and coiled in the air. . . . A serpent's head grew out of the end of it, opening its mouth wide. Harry wondered whether the instrument was confirming his story: He looked eagerly at Dumbledore for a sign that he was right, but Dumbledore did not look up.

"Naturally, naturally," murmured Dumbledore apparently to himself, still observing the stream of smoke without the slightest sign of surprise. "But in essence divided?"

Harry could make neither head nor tail of this question. The smoke serpent, however, split itself instantly into two snakes, both coiling and undulating in the dark air. With a look of grim satisfaction Dumbledore gave the instrument another gentle tap with his wand: The clinking noise slowed and died, and the smoke serpents grew faint, became a formless haze, and vanished.

Dumbledore replaced the instrument upon its spindly little table; Harry saw many of the old headmasters in the portraits follow him with their eyes, then, realizing that Harry was watching them, hastily pretend to be sleeping again. Harry wanted to ask what the strange silver instrument was for, but before he could do so, there was a shout from the top of the wall to their right; the wizard called Everard had reappeared in his portrait, panting slightly.

"Dumbledore!"

"What news?" said Dumbledore at once.

"I yelled until someone came running," said the wizard, who was mopping his brow on the curtain behind him, "said I'd heard something moving downstairs — they weren't sure whether to believe me but went down to check — you know there are no portraits down there to watch from. Anyway, they carried him up a few minutes later. He doesn't look too bad, he's covered in blood though, I ran along to Elfrida Cragg's portrait to get a good view as they left —"

"Good," said Dumbledore as Ron made a convulsive movement, "I take it Dilys will have seen him arrive, then —"

And moments later, the silver-ringleted witch had reappeared in her picture too; she sank, coughing, into her armchair and said, "Yes, they've taken him to St. Mungo's, Dumbledore. . .They carried him past under my portrait. . . . He looks bad, unconscious. . . ."

"Thank you," said Dumbledore. He looked around at Professor McGonagall. "Minerva, I need you to send Mr. Weasley and the other children back to bed, if possible.."

"Of course. . . ." Professor McGonagall got up and moved swiftly to the door; Harry

cast a sideways glance at Ron, who was now looking terrified.

"And Dumbledore — what about Sirius, won't he need to know?" said Professor McGonagall, pausing at the door.

"That will be a job for Fawkes when he has finished keeping a lookout for anybody approaching," said Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was now rummaging in a cupboard behind Harry. He emerged from it carrying a blackened old kettle, which he placed carefully upon his desk. He raised his wand and murmured "Portus"; for a moment the kettle trembled, glowing with an odd blue light, then it quivered to a rest, as solidly black as ever.

Dumbledore marched over to another portrait, this time of a clever-looking wizard with a pointed beard, who had been painted wearing the Slytherin colors of green and silver and was apparently sleeping so deeply that he could not hear Dumbledore's voice when he attempted to rouse him.

"Phineas. Phineas."

And now the subjects of the portraits lining the room were no longer pretending to be asleep; they were shifting around in their frames, the better to watch what was happening. When the cleverlooking wizard continued to feign sleep, some of them shouted his name too.

"Phineas! Phineas! PHINEAS!"

He could not pretend any longer; he gave a theatrical jerk and opened his eyes wide.

"Did someone call?"

"I need you to visit your other portrait again, Phineas," said Dumbledore. "I've got another message."

"Visit my other portrait?" said Phineas in a reedy voice, giving a long, fake yawn (his eyes traveling around the room and focusing upon Harry). "Oh no, Dumbledore, I am too tired tonight. . . ."

Something about Phineas's voice was familiar to Harry. Where had he heard it before? But before he could think, the portraits on the surrounding walls broke into a storm of protest.

"Insubordination, sir!" roared a corpulent, red-nosed wizard, brandishing his fists. "Dereliction of duty!"

"We are honor-bound to give service to the present Headmaster of Hogwarts!" cried a frail-looking old wizard whom Harry recognized as Dumbledore's predecessor, Armando Dippet. "Shame on you, Phineas!"

"Shall I persuade him, Dumbledore?" called a gimlet-eyed witch, raising an unusually thick wand that looked not unlike a birch rod. "Oh, very well," said the wizard called Phineas, eyeing this wand slightly apprehensively, "though he may well have destroyed my picture by now, he's done most of the family —"

"Sirius knows not to destroy your portrait," said Dumbledore, and Harry realized immediately where he had heard Phineas's voice before: issuing from the apparently empty frame in his bedroom in Grimmauld Place. "You are to give him the message that Jake Castillo has been gravely injured and that Harry Potter will be arriving at his house shortly. Do you understand?"

"Jake Castillo, injured, Harry Potter coming to stay," recited Phineas in a bored voice. "Yes, yes . . . very well. . . ."

"How am I going?" asked Harry, looking shaken. "Floo powder?"

Professor McGonagall slipped back in the room.

"No," said Dumbledore, "Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey." He indicated the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. "We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back. . . . I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you —"

There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.

"It is Fawkes's warning," said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. "She must know you're out of your bed. . . . Minerva, go and head her off — tell her any story —" Professor McGonagall was gone in a swish of tartan.

"He says he'll be delighted," said a bored voice behind Dumbledore; the wizard called Phineas had reappeared in front of his Slytherin banner. "My great-great-grandson has always had an odd taste in houseguests. . . ."

"Come here, then," Dumbledore said to Harry. "And quickly, before anyone else joins us . . ."

Harry went to Dumbledore's desk.

"You have used a Portkey before?" asked Dumbledore, and he nodded, reaching out to touch part of the blackened kettle. "Good. On the count of three then . . . one . . . two . . ."

It happened in a fraction of a second: In the infinitesimal pause before Dumbledore said "three," Harry looked up at him — they were very close together — and Dumbledore's clear blue gaze moved from the Portkey to Harry's face.

He felt a push against his Occlumency shields; but not from Dumbledore. He crushed down on the tendril and caught Dumbledore eye as he felt a powerful jerk behind his navel, the ground vanished from beneath his feet, his hand was glued to the kettle; he was banging into the others as all sped forward in a swirl of colors and a rush of wind, the kettle pulling him onward and then —

His feet hit the ground so hard that his knees buckled, the kettle clattered to the ground and somewhere close at hand a voice said, "Back again, the blood traitor's brat, is it true their friend's dying . . . ?"

"OUT!" roared a second voice.

Harry scrambled to his feet and looked around; they had arrived in the gloomy basement kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place. The only sources of light were the fire and one guttering candle, which illuminated the remains of a solitary supper. Kreacher was disappearing through the door to the hall, looking back at them malevolently as he hitched up his loincloth; Sirius was hurrying toward them all, looking anxious. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes; there was also a slightly Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink about him.

"What's going on?" he said, stretching out a hand to help him up. "Phineas Nigellus said Jake's been badly injured —"

"It was —" Harry began, shaking slightly. His voice trembled. (Rowling OotP)

He stopped short as another familiar figure entered the room.

"Kate?" He asked, too tired and incredulous to bother with the Professor charade.

Kate hurried towards him and fired off several questions. "Are you okay? What happened? Do you need to lie down for a while? Do you want me to take you home?"

Harry blinked, "What are you doing here?"

She scrutinized him, seemingly ignoring his question. He wondered if she'd even heard him before she answered him, "Sirius figured out our little secret, or enough of it that I decided he needed to be brought into the loop and has been sworn to secrecy. No one else is here tonight and he has agreed to cooperate with us beyond simply staying quiet."

"Not that I had much of a choice on the oath, mind you." Sirius chimed in wryly. "Bloody scary, she is."

Harry felt his lips twitch, almost against his will, and he couldn't help but feel some amusement despite the somber scene. "I know."

"Now," Kate said briskly, apparently deciding that if he was healthy enough to joke, he would be okay for the moment. "What happened?"

Harry told them everything, the meeting with Dumbledore, his vision, his second meeting with Dumbledore, how his Occlumency shields had been down, but later he'd felt pressure against them. They moved to sit on the couch.

"What's happening to me?" Harry asked at last, "Why am I having these visions again?"

Kate, who had an arm around him as he unabashedly cuddled up to her on the couch while Sirius sat in an armchair adjacent to them, was quick to correct him. "One vision you have because your Occlumency was down is not you 'having these visions again,' Harry."

He nodded, once again finding no difficulty believing her.

"Now, do you want me to take you home?" Kate asked him.

Harry was sorely tempted, but he knew that it wouldn't help any of them, plus Kate had to return to Hogwarts anyway. "No, I can stay here. Actually, I think I'm going to try to go back to Hogwarts."

Sirius looked surprised and a little hurt, Harry noticed, but Kate didn't look surprised.

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"Why do I want to go back to Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "Because I've got to keep working on finding the charter and it should be easier with less people. Plus, Kate has to stay and I'm the reason she'll be there in the first place, so I should stay too."

Sirius couldn't really argue with him, so he nodded, "I suppose."

Kate didn't say anything for a moment. "Jamie is going to stay with me for a few days, too."

Harry smiled slightly at that. "I can't wait. Don't you have to go before someone comes though?"

Kate smiled, "I do, but I'm not going to leave until you go to bed."

Harry sighed but didn't argue as all three rose and he led them to the room that he had occupied while he stayed at Grimmauld place briefly during the summer.

_**LATER THAT NIGHT AT ST. MUNGO'S**_

Jake's eyes were shut and his face was relaxed and peaceful when Kate walked in. He was lying on his back, chest rising and falling steadily, the perfect picture of an easy sleep. His injuries, besides bleeding and being poisoned, were not extensive. The snake, Nagini, had not managed to pierce his blood stream, thus the poison had been contained and he was perfectly stable.

The Order had placed a guard outside his door, under an invisibility cloak, and subtly warded his room to prevent intruders. They were expecting Voldemort to come finish the job, Kate knew.

This did not hinder her in the slightest. She manipulated the ward to not recognize her presence as a magical signature at all. It was complex, difficult, and something she'd made up as a teenager to sneak out of Ilvermorny, when it suited her. Only the other Rogues knew it was even possible. Then again, every wizard or witch worth their salt (everyone on her or Drake's level) had a method of breaking through wards undetected, which was supposedly impossible. She happened to know several of them, but this is one she had made up. Drake knew of it, but struggled to do it as well as she did. This was, they knew, because everyone's magic was slightly attuned to a specific style and use of magic, giving everyone, combined with their wand affinity, and "color" of their magic, a unique signature. This was fluid, as a result, depending on the wand the wielder used, but more importantly, the amount of magic you let be latent around you (your aura).

Reasonably assured of her masked presence, Kate was therefore surprised when Jake's eyes fluttered open. His face split into a slight, and very cocky, grin. "Hey, Ross. Right on time!"

Kate rolled her eyes fondly, "Am I now? I think you know why I'm here."

"How much do you know?" Jake asked, sobering, if only a little.

"Harry saw the whole thing in a vision." Kate said in clipped tones, rather displeased but understanding the benefits of the situation.

Jake blinked in shock, the implications whirling in his mind. "What does that mean?" He asked carefully.

Kate studied him for a long moment, but he could see her thoughts swirling in her eyes. He stayed quiet, allowing her to sort her thoughts.

"His Occlumency shields were down, and I'm sure this was a Voldemort induced vision." She began.

"Then how did he see what happened?" Jake asked rhetorically, glad she had come to the same conclusion as he, with a different set of facts. He hadn't known Harry had seen the whole thing. "If Voldemort wasn't there?"

"Exactly." Kate said, "So he must've been there, or his soul at least, because that's where the connection is. And we've been looking for the last one."

"When I stabbed it with the sword you gave me, it died the same way the other Horcruxes did." Jake said, "I kind of figured it was the one we were looking for."

"The timeline of Nagini's entrance into the picture fits as well." Kate said.

"So now we only have to deal with Harry and Voldemort himself." Jake summarized.

"Yes, but…" Kate began, hesitating, "I am not as far along in finding a cure to Harry's issue as I'd like to be, and, frankly, he's a great duelist but he's not ready to face Voldemort yet. Not even close."

Jake didn't say anything, his jaw locking reflexively at the bad news. He wasn't surprised honestly, he could've guessed something similar, just by how serious his normally laid back friend was right now. "We have time, Kate. For one thing, most of Voldemort's death traps don't finalize until the end of the school year."

She grinned slightly, "True. But I'm not going to bank on that to save Harry's life."

"You have a plan." His eyes narrowed when she smirked slightly.

"I do." Kate admitted, "It should buy us all kinds of time."

"Was there anything else?" He asked.

"I need the sword back. I'm not sure if Dumbledore's noticed that the one in his office is a replica." Kate said bluntly.

Jake blinked, "You nicked the sword from _Albus Dumbledore's _office?"

She gave him an unholy smile. "I'm a prankster and a curse breaker. Are you really that surprised?"

Jake shrugged, "I guess not. Is it the sword of Gryffindor?"

"Got it in one." She mock praised, "Did you not _look _at it?"

He had a rather sheepish look on his face. "Not really."

_**HOGWARTS HEADMASTER'S OFFICE**_

"What do you mean Potter's gone home early?" Delores Umbridge simpered after Albus had made up a story as to why Harry was gone.

"As I just said, he has had a family emergency and he has gone to be with them."

"Where exactly has he gone?" Umbridge pressed in a high girlish voice. "Surely not to Privet Drive?"

Albus didn't comment on the fact that she knew where Harry lived, but did make a mental note. "No, he has gone to another relative's home. That is all I know, I'm afraid."

"This is ridiculous!" Umbridge exclaimed furiously. "Not only is this a _disgusting_ display of favoritism because it violates school policy, but it is also an act of defiance against the ministry itself!"

"Madam Umbridge-" Albus began with forced calm.

"And where is Professor Ross in all of this!?" She howled, "I know you're all in kahoots with each other! You, her, and Potter!" She accused wildly.

Albus blinked, latching onto the new information, "What do you mean, 'Where is Professor Ross?' Is she not here?"

Umbridge gave a dignified sniff. "Of course she is absent tonight. Do not lie to me. You know where she is."

Albus wanted to throttle her, but he imagined there was quite a queue for that. "I did not, in fact, know that she was absent tonight, but I shall find out why as soon as I can." He promised. He very carefully neglected to mention he probably wouldn't tell her.

"You had better." She said, trying to intimidate him. He had spent time as a captive of Grindelwald. What she could do to him did not scare him.

A/N:: REVIEW! Reviews made me want to write this immediately...


	36. Chapter 36: Wonderful Christmastime

Chapter 36: Wonderful Christmastime

Harry's return to Hogwarts was met with surprise for those who were not "in the know" as it were. He, Ron, and Hermione were disappointed that none of them would be together for Christmas this year. Hermione and her parents were going skiing (and Ron was confused as to why anyone would want to slide down a hill on wooden boards), Ron was going to Grimmauld place with his family, and Harry was taking the chance to spend Christmas with Kate for the first time in years.

As always, Hogwarts was decked to the brim with Christmas decorations, all 12 trees had been brought into the Great Hall, and Kate had been similarly inclined.

She had recruited Harry and the two other students staying in the castle over break, a second year Hufflepuff and a seventh year Slytherin, to help her find a suitable tree in the forest to cut down and drag back to her quarters. Her rooms were simple and contained a sitting room, with a fireplace, a kitchenette with space for a table, and two doors, one to her bedroom, and one to her bathroom. They put the 6 foot tree in the corner near the fire and before any of them noticed, a combination of muggle and magical Christmas music was playing as the four of them decorated the tree with lights and ornaments. Towards the end of their task, Kate ordered all of them hot chocolate and sugar cookies while she told all of them stories about her past Christmases. The Hufflepuff, whose name was Timmy, and the Slytherin, whose name was Lyra, were quickly swept up in Kate's love for the holiday and good cheer, while Harry let himself forget all of his troubles for the moment. The rest of the holiday was eventful to say the least.

Harry, Jamie, and Kate started a prank war on Jamie's second day in the castle and had happily pranked each other and several of the other inhabitants of the castle, especially Umbridge. The High Inquisitor had taken a dislike to Jamie almost as fast as Jamie had taken a dislike to her. Eventually, she'd lost her self control, when Harry had charmed everything she wore to be black, and assigned him a detention with her personally.

His dueling lessons had changed over break as Jamie spent her week teaching him basic muggle fighting techniques to get out of various physical fights. Kate, as usual, was also good at muggle fighting and could beat him up, but apparently, since it required no magic, she and Jamie were evenly matched. This led to some highly entertaining matches between the sisters.

Umbridge, of course, spent the whole holiday suspiciously following them around. Besides the detention, when he returned to the castle, she had questioned Harry about his whereabouts, which he refused to answer beyond, "Family emergency."

By the time Christmas day rolled around, Kate and Harry, and then Jamie, had had at least 6 snowball fights, 2 snowman building contests, and an unhealthy amount of hot chocolate and peppermint bark. According to Kate, most of the Professors had noticed and assumed all of this was just them being immature. Curiously, Dumbledore did not try to stop Harry from spending time with Kate, he must've felt guilty, they assumed.

Christmas dinner was another animal.

Because the only people at the castle this year were the professors and staff (Umbridge had forced them all, including Kate he found out, to stay somehow), Jamie, Umbridge, Harry, Lyra, and Timmy, they ate at one table.

When Harry arrived, Kate and Jamie were already seated, but the table was not yet full and he managed to get a seat next to Jamie, with Timmy on his other side and Lyra sitting across from them. Kate sat next to Lyra and the five of them made one end of the table, thankfully Umbridge felt it necessary to ruin Dumbledore and McGonagall's dinner with her presence at their end of the table, leaving them to talk and joke around freely.

Indeed, while Harry, Kate, and Jamie generated loads of raucous laughter and loud commentary, which was eventually joined by Lyra and Timmy, the table got progressively quieter the further down you went.

"So there we stood, Kate looking all awkward and like she was just as shocked as he was, Headmaster Fontaine with whipped cream just dripping off his entire face," Jamie wheezed, "and all our friends and I just staring while Lily rambled on about how it was a pie throwing competition. Literally we all just stared at each other for a minute, then suddenly, out of nowhere, Cella just throws both her hands in the air and yells 'Touchdown!'"

Lyra and Timmy exploded with laughter again, hunching over as there already pink cheeks disappeared in their laps. Even Harry, who'd heard this story already, laughed uproariously while Kate chuckled at their reactions.

"...Naturally, all hell broke loose."

After a moment, the three calmed down and Jamie continued, "Yep, Professor Ross-y over there was quite the little troublemaker in school. Ironic, really."

Kate snorted, "Like you weren't just as bad."

Jamie shrugged, unabashedly. "Meh."

"What other things did you do, Professor?" Timmy gasped out.

Kate grinned an unholy grin. "All kinds of things. We once got three baby pigs, charmed them to be completely magic resistant, labeled them 1, 4, and 5, and then released them in the school that night, so by the morning they were all spread around. Of course the teachers had to find them by hand, which meant chasing around a bunch of baby pigs all day."

All three students had to use all of their will to restrain their laughs. Kate smirked at them, "But I think the teachers had the most fun looking for 2 and 3."

All of them burst into fresh peels of laughter, which apparently caught the attention of the other end of the table.

Umbridge cleared her throat after a moment, "What, may I ask, is so amusing?"

"P-Professor R-oss's sch-school d-days-s!" Timmy spluttered in between laughs.

Umbridge was not expecting that apparently. "My big sis was quite the prankster." Jamie clarifies drily.

"What was your favorite prank, Professor?" Lyra asked Kate curiously.

Kate shrugged, "There were a couple I really liked. By my fifth year I had a reputation that always meant that the slightest hint of trouble caused all the teachers to watch me suspiciously, so I decided to use that against them. First I convinced other people to pull pranks with me, which opened up the pranks to more than just my friend group. Then, we slowly started spreading rumors of an epic prank we were planning to pull and even let the date slip through. The day came and all the teachers were really high strung and basically following me around and guarding the corridors. Every little noise caused them to jump, they actually tested their food for potions, and some even wore anti-jinx robes. It was really funny, especially because there was no prank. That _was _the prank, it was genius." Kate told them with relish.

"I personally liked the one where we snuck into every teacher's office and every classroom and switched all the desk drawers with random ones from different classrooms. The next morning was chaos because we didn't even put all the drawers from the same desk into a desk, it was just whatever fit." Jamie added with relish.

Harry, Lyra, and Timmy all laughed again, while Kate also laughed at the expression on Jamie's face, causing Jamie to also dissolve into laughter. The onlooking professors just stared at the group, though several seemed to be fighting smiles themselves.

This evolved into Kate and Jamie regaling the entire table with stories of their Ilvermorny days. Umbridge had left in a huff midway through the dinner, apparently too appalled to stay. That suited everyone else just fine and Christmas dinner ended up a memorable experience.

Harry did have some down time during break, which he spent searching for the charter with Jamie, while Kate worried about something or another in her office.

Rifling through what must've been his thousandth history book, he mentally retraced what they had already. The Hogwarts charter was the official charter that allowed the founders to construct Hogwarts castle to build a school and was signed by all four founders and King Kenneth II, who was King of Scotland then. From there, it was held in Hogwarts until Slytherin left, taking the charter with him, supposedly so that when he returned he could claim his rightful place in the castle. However, when Gryffindor defeated him, he failed to find the charter and it is believed that the charter was one of the documents that Slytherin hid in a pocket dimension using a spell only he ever knew how to use (he invented it). This was confirmed 140 years later when an heir of Hufflepuff cracked the code and found the Charter. It was then sent to the archives in Constantinople to be studied and preserved, but when the city was sacked by Crusaders in 1204, the Charter went missing again. From there, Harry, Ron, and Hermione think it most likely that the Crusaders took the Charter back to Europe, as there were accounts of it being returned to Hogwarts a few decades later.

Unfortunately, it was lost again in the Plague due to the belief that it had been contaminated by a student who later died from the plague and moved. Following that, the Charter managed to make its way through history, popping up occasionally, but not at Hogwarts. Eventually, it ended up in the hands of Gellert Grindelwald in one of his raids in Eastern Europe. They weren't completely sure what happened to it from there, all of the archives recovered when Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald were put into a museum or returned to their rightful owners.

This meant that the charter would have had to have gone to a museum because Dumbledore had said he didn't know where it was. However, various ministries had gone through everything recovered and the charter was only of value to the British, so Hogwarts or the ministry would've gotten it back. It was common knowledge that it was lost, and even if the ministry had it, Dumbledore would've known and they wouldn't have needed to establish a Board of Governors. This implied that someone was lying along the way, Dumbledore or the ministry, most probably. Problem was, Dumbledore would have no reason to lie as the charter would help him against the Board and the ministry, which would be a reason why the ministry could lie. The only issue with the ministry lying was how many people would be involved in that sort of thing.

As Drake always said, the more people that are in on it, the less realistic it is. So what did that mean? It was Jamie's assertion that surprised him, because for all his faults, Harry hesitated to accuse Dumbledore of lying straight up. If nothing else, it wasn't his style, though Harry thought better of him than that anyway. Yet Jamie did not hesitate to say rather bluntly that Dumbledore was capable of much worse than lying.

Harry wondered, around this time, whether it was possible for Hogwarts to have the charter without Dumbledore's knowledge, as there were a few years between his defeat of Grindelwald and him becoming headmaster. Maybe the previous headmaster had hidden it for some reason and not told anyone where it was? Either way, it hit Harry like a ton of bricks that the Charter had been in Hogwarts the whole time.

He set out to find it that day, roaming the room of hidden things in the Room or Requirement first. He wanted to write Ron and Hermione immediately, but Jamie and later Kate warned him not to. Kate also told him that she could assure him that the Charter was not in the Room of Requirement. She also, rather mockingly, suggested that he check anywhere that Dumbledore had set up an obstacle course of deemed "forbidden" in the most obvious, come-and-be-nosy-here, sort of way. Clearly, someone hadn't let go of his first year adventure. He did add the Forbidden Forest to his list of places to check.

_**DEC 29, 1995, 12 GRIMMAULD PLACE**_

"What is Professor Ross like?" Mrs. Weasley asked one night during dinner. It was right after an order meeting and a large number of the group stayed for dinner that night.

She wasn't even pretending to be ignorant of their DADA Professor, Hermione noticed. She had come back early from her ski trip because she realized she wanted to be here more. Hermione noticed that an abnormal number of order members had stuck around for dinner and all of them seemed to be eavesdropping. This fit with what Jake had warned them about. Kate had gotten the Order's attention and right now she was an unknown factor.

"Bloody brilliant!" Fred or George exclaimed without preamble.

The other one chimed in immediately, "Best teacher we've had, she is."

Ron nodded as Mr. Weasley chuckled and as Mrs. Weasley eyed the twins suspiciously. "Is she now?"

"She knows her stuff." Ron said, "And lets us actually practice duelling."

"She also pranks Umbribge and has a sense of humor." Ginny added.

Mrs. Weasley looked more disapproving than anything else at that comment.

"She's an expert a lot of different branches of magic and is fascinating to talk to, frankly." Hermione added her own two cents.

"She sounds brilliant." Tonks said wistfully, "Pity none of the DADA teachers were like that when I was at school."

"They couldn't be worse than the ones we've had." Ron said dubiously, "Only one of them didn't purposely try to kill or maim Harry, Hermione, or I."

Tonks blinked for a moment. "I knew that, but somehow you saying it aloud…."

Ron shrugged, while Ginny wheeled around to face him. "What happened your first year?"

"You don't know?" Ron asked in surprise. Ginny shook her head.

"Quirrell was being possessed by Voldemort and tried to steal the Philosopher's stone." Hermione said succinctly. "We stopped him."

"You know, I think this might be the first year that our DADA professor won't try to kill us." Ron said. "Sorry, Professor Lupin."

Professor Lupin gave him a weak smile, "Not your fault, Ron."

"What makes you think Professor Ross isn't going to do anything?" Sirius asked with a smirk.

"Oh-well-um…" Hermione tried frantically to think of an answer before she registered the glint in Sirius's eye and realized that he must know the secret. She caught Jake's eye while Ron made up an answer for his best friend's godfather. Jake nodded so slightly that she would have missed it had she blinked.

"Because she's Professor Ross?" Had been the best Ron could come up with.

"She's got you where she wants you then, lad, if she wanted to get to you, she could. You trust her far too easily and without a single good reason!" Moody barked at him. Ron jumped slightly, turning red as Hermione recognized the danger signs.

"Ron!" She exclaimed more forcefully that strictly necessary. "Let's go work on our homework!"

"Huh?" He caught her pointed look, thankfully and his eyes widened, "The essay! I forgot about that!"

"Of course you did." Hermione rolled her eyes for good measure.

Sirius caught up with them later that night, looking unusually serious. "Hey, you lot." He greeted when the two Gryffindors looked up.

They both had jumped slightly when the door opened and fallen silent from their conversation.

"Hey Sirius." They said in unison.

"You don't need to stop your conversation for little old me." He said, "I know you all went Rogue this summer. Jake and Kate explained everything."

_**GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM THAT NIGHT**_

Several days before New Years, Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room reading a book Kate had given him on curses. The room was devoid of life and the only light came from the dying fire.

He glanced up occasionally, his stomach doing little flips as he did so. Kate had told him Sirius was going to floo him tonight and he had to admit, he was nervous. He wasn't sure how Sirius was going to take his- he wasn't exactly sure what to call it. Neglecting the whole truth? He hadn't really lied, he just hadn't mentioned a rather large part of his life. He also feared Sirius would feel he was betraying his "real" parents, but he barely felt any connection to them, at least compared to the Ross parents. The fireplace flared to life suddenly, before he could work himself up even more.

"Harry?" A very familiar voice called.

Harry did not hesitate to scramble up and over to the fire, sliding to his knees on the rug in front of the hearth.

"Sirius!" He exclaimed. "I can explain-"

His godfather cut him off, "I understand, kiddo. Kate and Jake explained it, and I'm happy for you, really." Sirius had a strained smile and his eyes betrayed sadness, but he seemed genuine. "I really don't have a right to be upset anyway, I wasn't there for you and Kate and her family was."

Harry smiled, relieved, sheepish, and grateful all at once. He wondered what he had done to deserve such an understanding godfather. "Thanks, Sirius."

"So, how've you been?" Sirius asked him, changing the subject.

Harry grinned, "I found the Hogwarts Charter." He said bluntly, "But I'm waiting for Ron and Hermione to read it…"

"You're waiting?" Sirius asked dryly.

"It's in Old English, I can't read it." He admitted. "And Kate is refusing to help. Says it's a good distraction from everything. I know she isn't telling me something, she admitted it to me, so instead we're doing this." He rolled his eyes.

The dog animagus barked a laugh, "That's genius. Put other mysteries in front of you, so you don't get into too much trouble."

"Well, seeing as Kate was way worse than me when she was my age, she's basically an expert in this." Harry said dryly. "How've you been?"

"Some old, same old." Sirius sighed wistfully, "I hate being stuck up in Headquarters, but apparently I'm not needed any more."

Harry felt a little awkward as he regarded his godfather, "I'm sure it'll get more interesting, the Rogues tend to be a good counter to boredom." He said consolingly.

A/N::: I'm sorry it took me a month to update...please REVIEW anyway!


	37. Chapter 37: A Right of Conquest

Chapter 37: A Right of Conquest

"_âbêcêdê heáfodgerím folcâgende orgilde heáfodgerím feorhlic ierfenuma mêowle beniman forebodian temprian orgilde Hogwarts wislic hiere of hê âge scolde ðone as lâdscipe mæsse−ûhta feohgestrêon orgilde ðone as leornungscôl forwyrd from− orgilde wægn onsetenes weg of ðone as leorninghûs. beinnan ðe cocer, dôð ierfenuma reordian beniman full hæfen orgilde ðone as sæl salu, hêo galdorcræft, hwæðere sîn mancynn._" Hermione recited under her breath.

Harry and Ron watched her brow furrow impatiently as she glanced back and forth between the Charter and the parchment she had charmed to act as a translator.

"Well?"

"It says that the heirs of the founders are allowed to disband the Board of Governors and take control of the school. Everything the ministry's doing can only be done with the permission of the board or the heirs, whoever is in charge." Hermione said.

"Does it say who the heirs are?" Ron asked.

"Obviously not." Hermione deadpanned, "This was written a thousand years ago."

"So we don't know any heirs?" Ron groaned.

"We do." Harry said grimly, "Voldemort."

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed.

"We have to hide this, make sure he never finds out about this." Harry said. "Who knows what he'd do if he could claim the school."

They exchanged alarmed looks. "We need Kate to help us hide this." Hermione said bluntly. "She can put up some wards to stop anyone from finding this."

Harry jerked his head. He had to admit he hadn't seen Kate as much since break had ended and Jamie had gone back to London. Kate was increasingly wrapped up in whatever it was she was looking for when she wasn't teaching and Harry had stepped up DADA sessions as well. "You're right, let's go."

They all packed up their stuff and left the library. On their way, they encountered the last person they wanted to see.

"Mr. Potter!" A slightly shrill voice exclaimed. "A word, please."

Harry and his friends paused and turned to watch Umbridge waddle up to them as quickly as her short legs would allow. He refused to say anything as he didn't want to allow himself to be provoked.

"Your detention will be served this Friday in my office at 7." She said primly. "I expect you to be punctual."

Harry gave her a sharp nod and said, "If that's all, we'll be going."

Umbridge appeared to become flustered and said, "Oh, yes, that's-that's all."

Harry had a massive smirk on his face the rest of the way to his sister's office. Stupid bitch.

"Professor?" He called as he opened the door, a little more cautiously than he had prior to his meeting with Snape several weeks ago.

"Hello Harry." She said with a smile that didn't quite reach her tired eyes. "Figure out what the Charter says yet?"

"Yeah." Harry confirmed as they all sat down in front of Kate's desk.

"Well don't keep me in suspense." She said humorously.

Hermione launched into an explanation of their findings while Kate listened patiently.

"So now we need a way to make sure Voldemort never finds it." Harry said.

"Hmm." Kate did not react for a long moment. "Well I think we could get Drake to hid it in a random tomb in...the bowels of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Or any other random place, nobody will find it for a long time because we won't leave it somewhere logical or leave a trail."

"Ok." That really was a perfect solution. Leave it to Kate to figure out that chucking it somewhere random would be the best way to hide the charter.

"We need to do it quickly though, if anyone gets this, it will be bad."

"Not necessarily." Kate shrugged, "I mean, yeah I'll get it to Drake as soon as possible, but-" She paused and cocked her head to one side.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"What are the Right of Conquest laws like in Britain?"

"That's bloody brilliant!" Ron blurted out immediately as Hermione exclaimed, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"What?" Harry asked blankly.

"Right of Conquest, if you defeat someone like You-Know-Who you automatically get all their stuff if you want it." Ron said with a grin. "You could take his house and his money!"

"It's true." Hermione confirmed when Harry looked at her.

"But it will be difficult." Kate said bluntly. "We need to do this carefully, and we better get rid of the charter first. We can always go get it later, I'll put a tracking charm on it."

"Sounds like a plan then." Ron said cheerfully.

"Now, that means you lot are up for the research for the Right of Conquest thing, but I also want you to practice your duelling, all three of you." Kate said, "I'll take the charter but," she waved her wand and another piece of parchment popped into existence about 6 inches aboved the desk and floated down, "I want you to have a copy of exact wording translated for reference. Don't leave it lying around, even though," she waved her wand again, "it is charmed to look like a half completed essay for my class." She held it out for Harry to take, which he did without hesitation. He also did not hesitate to hand it straight off to Hermione.

_**ROGUE HQ, THE NEXT NIGHT**_

"Reports?" Kate asked without preamble as soon as she hit the armchair that had been left for her.

Lily would have bristled at her tone had she not observed Kate's slow transformation since this whole thing had started. Kate Ross was one of her best friends and she liked to think that she knew the other woman well, well enough to know that she had several different modes, one of which was her war mode, the general, the serious, no nonsense magical powerhouse. As far as she had observed, Kate fell into this persona unconsciously when she perceived a true threat.

Usually it was more abrupt than this. Usually Kate was all jokes and teasing until the meeting started, until she stood at the portkey point, until the danger was imminent. Then she snapped into it seamlessly, and was already out by the time you next saw her, tired, victorious, and back to her wise cracks. Easy and to the point, just as Kate liked.

But not this time.

This time it had been slow, it had taken time. If you asked her to pinpoint when the battle had started, when Kate had felt danger was imminent, she wouldn't be able to tell you. This scared her more than anything. It meant that this time was different. This time it was bad. If all the other times Kate had had it well in hand, she had known what to do, had known she could do it, and this time it was different… What did that mean? Kate was scared. She didn't have the answers, and neither did anyone else. And that scared her. Thus, the General.

"Everything's the same in journalism land." Kenna said dryly.

"Fudge is being slow because he apparently _doesn't see a need to spend so much money_." Cella said, her voice heated with all the aggression she could not show Fudge.

Several snorts were all the answers she got.

"We got the last horcrux." Jake said, "I think everyone knows by now, but we are officially done with the Easter egg hunt from hell."

A cheer went up around the room and smug grins were exchanged as everyone tried to pretend they didn't want to jump up and down.

"That just leaves Harry and Voldemort himself." Frankie concluded.

"Yes," said Kate, "has anyone made progress with Harry?"

The room sobered like they'd been doused in cold water.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before." Frankie said quietly, "We've looked _everywhere_ \- Drake and I - but there isn't anything for this. No leads, nothing."

Silence reigned and every head swiveled to Lily, as if hoping she would fix all of their problems. "There just isn't enough research on the soul." She said, "And there are so many problems with everything - it wouldn't even be worth it to test _one_ of them on Harry. The soul was not made to be cut up, especially deliberately."

"And we still have no idea whether or not the shard is separate or not." Kate sighed, "Which is on me…"

"Don't beat yourself up, it's not your fault." Cella said sympathetically, "We are basically trying to multiply research that doesn't exist. It always equals zero."

The silence was heavy and depressing. Lily resisted the urge to fidget. Her leg suddenly itched. So did her right eyebrow. She moved her hand from her thigh to the armrest. Her leg went cold at the spot it had been burning. She looked around at all the faces, lost in thought on slumped shoulders.

"This is pathetic!" Jamie exclaimed in frustration, "We are acting like a bunch of _losers_!" She jumped up suddenly and began to pace.

Kate sighed deeply and rubbed her eye. "And what would you have us do?"

Jamie didn't have an answer.

"Didn't you say you had a plan?" Jake asked Kate after a long second of silence.

"It doesn't fix the problem." Kate said flatly.

"It's better than nothing." Cella cut her off swiftly, "Have you heard from Drake?"

"He hid it - somewhere in Thailand I think." Kate said, "He got called in by the guild to do something, someone jacked up the wards on a shopping district in Beijing and he's got to fix it…"

"Timing's a bit sketchy." Jamie said immediately, "Sounds like someone trying to drag him away."

They all paused at the implications.

"Well… if they were, they obviously under estimate Kate." Tiff observed.

"That's their funeral." Kenna said dismissively.

_**THE FIRST DAY OF THE SPRING TERM, HOGWARTS**_

When Hermione's Daily Prophet arrived she smoothed it out, gazed for a moment at the front page, and then gave a yelp that caused everyone in the vicinity to stare at her.

"What?" said Harry and Ron together.

For an answer she spread the newspaper on the table in front of them and pointed at ten black-and-white photographs that filled the whole of the front page, nine showing wizards' faces and the tenth, a witch's. Some of the people in the photographs were silently jeering; others were tapping their fingers on the frame of their pictures, look- ing insolent. Each picture was captioned with a name and the crime for which the person had been sent to Azkaban.

_Antonin Dolohov_, read the legend beneath a wizard with a long, pale, twisted face who was sneering up at Harry, _convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett._ _Augustus Rookwood_, said the caption beneath a pockmarked man with greasy hair who was leaning against the edge of his picture, looking bored, _convicted of leaking Ministry of Magic Secrets to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_. But Harry's eyes were drawn to the picture of the witch. Her face had leapt out at him the moment he had seen the page. She had long, dark hair that looked unkempt and straggly in the picture, though he had seen it sleek, thick, and shining. She glared up at him through heavily lidded eyes, an arrogant, disdainful smile playing around her thin mouth. Like Sirius, she retained vestiges of great good looks, but something — perhaps Azkaban — had taken most of her beauty. _Bellatrix Lestrange, convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom._

Hermione nudged Harry and pointed at the headline over the pictures, which Harry, concentrating on Bellatrix, had not yet read.

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT" FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

"Black?" Harry hissed. "They're blaming Sirius!?"

"Shhh!" whispered Hermione desperately. "Not here — just read it!"

_The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban. Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening, and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals._

"_We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped," said Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals and beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached."_

"I don't believe this," snarled Harry, "Fudge is blaming the breakout on Sirius?"

"What other options does he have?" said Hermione bitterly. "He can hardly say, 'Sorry everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Azkaban guards have joined Lord Voldemort' — stop whimpering, Ron — 'and now Voldemort's worst supporters have bro- ken out too.' I mean, he's spent a good six months telling everyone you and Dumbledore are liars, hasn't he?"

Hermione ripped open the newspaper and began to read the report inside while Harry looked around the Great Hall. He could not un- derstand why his fellow students were not looking scared or at least discussing the terrible piece of news on the front page, but very few of them took the newspaper every day like Hermione. There they all were, talking about homework and Quidditch and who knew what other rubbish, and outside these walls ten more Death Eaters had swollen Voldemort's ranks. . . .

He glanced up at the staff table. It was a different story here:

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were deep in conversation, both looking extremely grave. Professor Sprout had the Prophet propped against a bottle of ketchup and was reading the front page with such concentration that she was not noticing the gentle drip of egg yolk falling into her lap from her stationary spoon. Meanwhile, at the far end of the table, Professor Umbridge was tucking into a bowl of porridge. For once her pouchy toad's eyes were not sweeping the Great Hall looking for misbehaving students. She scowled as she gulped down her food and every now and then she shot a malevolent glance up the table to where Dumbledore and McGonagall were talking so intently. Kate was eating like nothing was wrong with the world, but he could tell by the set of her shoulders that she felt like blowing someone up. Ten someones actually.

"Oh my —" said Hermione wonderingly, still staring at the newspaper.

"What now?" said Harry quickly; he was feeling jumpy.

"It's . . . horrible," said Hermione, looking shaken. She folded back page ten of the newspaper and handed it back to Harry and Ron.

TRAGIC DEMISE OF MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER

_St. Mungo's Hospital promised a full inquiry last night after Ministry of Magic worker Broderick Bode, 49, was discovered dead in his bed, strangled by a potted-plant. Healers called to the scene were unable to revive Mr. Bode, who had been injured in a workplace accident some weeks prior to his death. Healer Miriam Strout, who was in charge of Mr. Bode's ward at the time of the incident, has been sus- pended on full pay and was unavailable for comment yesterday, but a spokeswizard for the hospital said in a statement, "St. Mungo's deeply regrets the death of Mr. Bode, whose health was improving steadily prior to this tragic accident. _

"_We have strict guidelines on the decorations permitted on our wards but it appears that Healer Strout, busy over the Christmas period, overlooked the dangers of the plant on Mr. Bode's bedside table. As his speech and mobility improved, Healer Strout encouraged Mr. Bode to look after the plant himself, unaware that it was not an innocent Flitterbloom, but a cutting of Devil's Snare, which, when touched by the convalescent Mr. Bode, throttled him instantly._

"_St. Mungo's is as yet unable to account for the presence of the plant on the ward and asks any witch or wizard with information to come forward."_

"Bode . . ." said Ron. "Bode. It rings a bell. . . ."

"We saw him," Hermione whispered. "In St. Mungo's when we were visiting Jake, remember? He was in the bed opposite Lockhart's, just lying there, staring at the ceiling. And we saw the Devil's Snare arrive. She — the Healer — said it was a Christmas present. . . ."

Harry looked back at the story. A feeling of horror was rising like bile in his throat.

"How come we didn't recognize Devil's Snare? We've seen it before . . . we could've stopped this from happening . . ." Hermione groaned.

"Who expects Devil's Snare to turn up in a hospital disguised as a potted plant?" said Ron sharply. "It's not our fault, whoever sent it to the bloke is to blame! They must be a real prat, why didn't they check what they were buying?"

"Oh come on, Ron!" said Hermione shakily, "I don't think anyone could put Devil's Snare in a pot and not realize it tries to kill whoever touches it? This — this was murder. . . . A clever murder, as well. . . . If the plant was sent anonymously, how's anyone ever going to find out who did it?"

"I've heard Dad talk about him at home! He was an Unspeakable — he worked in the Department of Mysteries!" Ron exclaimed suddenly.

They looked at one another for a moment, then Hermione pulled the newspaper back toward her, closed it, glared for a moment at the pictures of the ten escaped Death Eaters on the front, then leapt to her feet.

"Where are you going?" said Ron, startled.

"To Professor Ross's office," said Hermione, swinging her bag onto her shoulder. "It . . . well, I don't know whether . . . but it's worth trying . . . " 

A/N:::REVIEW!


	38. Chapter 38: Talk

Chapter 38: Talk

Hagrid's probation was the straw that broke the camel's back for Harry. He hadn't known how to react when he'd come across Hagrid trying to act cheerful (and failing miserably) but it had only compounded his need to act.

Word of Hagrid's probation made its way around the school over the next couple days and Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been indignant by the lack of outrage over his probation. Indeed, some, like Draco Malfoy, had been downright gleeful.

"He had it coming." The blonde prat had remarked loudly during a DADA class the following Monday, "He was a horrid Professor."

To Harry's glee, Kate had overheard him and taken 20 points, which had effectively ended Malfoy's gloating for the rest of the day. Unfortunately that hadn't stopped other things from causing people to stare at Harry.

Rumors were flying about the escaped Death Eaters. Theories about their escape, reports, some downright ridiculous, of spottings, tales of what the ministry was doing about the whole thing were in every conversation. Some speculated that the dementors were going to return and others talked about what Sirius Black was "plotting" all while the _Daily Prophet_ was filled with Ministry drivel downplaying events and platitudes from Fudge himself. If there was one positive thing, people were increasingly frustrated and distrusting of the newspaper. Harry had heard a 4th year Ravenclaw remark on how their parents had asked him to begin listening to what Dumbledore said in school, censored as he was by the ministry.

Some kids had noticeably worse reactions, however. Susan Bones, who had an uncle, aunt, and cousins who had all died at the hands of one of the ten, said miserably during Herbology that she now had a good idea what it felt like to be Harry. "And I don't know how you stand it, it's horrible," she said bluntly, dumping far too much dragon manure on her tray of Screechsnap seedlings, causing them to wriggle and squeak in discomfort.

Neville Longbottom has also been the subject of a great deal of whispers but he did not seem to care. Expect for in DA lessons where he drove himself until he was the best student there. Kate had also said that he had shot up the class rankings in DADA until he was in the top 5, with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It made sense, Harry thought, considering what the Lestranges had done to his parents.

Harry was also the subject of much renewed muttering and pointing in the corridors these days, yet he thought he detected a slight difference in the tone of the whisperers' voices. They sounded curious rather than hostile now, and once or twice he was sure he overheard snatches of conversation that suggested that the speakers were not satisfied with the Prophet's version of how and why ten Death Eaters had managed to break out of Azkaban fortress. In their confusion and fear, these doubters now seemed to be turning to the only other explanation available to them, the one that Harry and Dumbledore had been expounding since the previous year.

It was not only the students' mood that had changed. It was now quite common to come across two or three teachers conversing in low, urgent whispers in the corridors, breaking off their conversations the moment they saw students approaching.

"They obviously can't talk freely in the staffroom anymore," said Hermione in a low voice, as she, Harry, and Ron passed Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout huddled together outside the Charms classroom one day. "Not with Umbridge there."

"Reckon they know anything new?" said Ron, gazing back over his shoulder at the three teachers.

"Kate would have told us." said Harry.

"She's been awfully busy lately, hasn't she?" Ron said with a smirk.

Umbridge, who had been beaten down by the jailbreak, was now truly miserable thanks to a series of mysterious pranks. First it had started small and unnoticeable, she had gotten very clumsy suddenly, unable to go a day without a very public and very embarrassing fall. Then she began having bad hair days, then she lost her voice for a few days, but it picked up after that. Her skin was changed to a hideous green and she was forced to speak in sonnets for a week. Then anything she tried to wear would instantly turn into Muggle clothing, which horrified her to no end. Often, the pranks would overlap, during the last few days of one, another would start and she was on a warpath to find the culprits, but there was never any evidence she could find.

At least it slowed down the scrutiny Hagrid and Trelawny were under. She had tried to sit in on every class, but it was impossible when she was a "distraction to a healthy learning environment" as Kate had boldly proclaimed when Umbridge had shown face in her class. He doubted it'd be enough, but it certainly helped.

It was the same conversation that Kate explained to Harry what she had done to Umbridge that she also updated him on the biggest news for the Rogues.

"I have good news."

"What is it?" Harry asked eagerly, hoping it was something to do with Umbridge or the escape Death Eaters.

"I got an owl from Cella this morning." Kate said with a smile threatening to explode onto her face.

"What'd she say?" Harry pressed.

"Fudge flooed her this morning to request that they work on a new defense agreement."

"What?" Harry asked blankly.

"One of our goals was to make Fudge amp up the British DMLE and Cella was trying to get a partnership that would help and force him to do it well." Kate explained, "Of course he resisted all attempts, but the breakout has made him see the… political advantages to such a deal."

"Oh — that's good!" Harry said, wondering if he'd ever understand political grandstanding, but happy for Cella.

"It is." She said, "It also protects my job and now Cella has the upper hand, having been proven correct in Fudge's eyes...in a roundabout sort of way."

"Why, Kate, I didn't know you cared if you kept your job!" Harry said sardonically.

"It doesn't actually matter, but it would be embarrassing…" she shrugged.

Harry snickered, part of him thinking it _would _be kind of funny, but another rebelling at the idea of having a different DADA professor. Who knew sisters made such good teachers?

"Do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?" She asked him.

"It's a Hogsmeade weekend, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." Kate said, "And I'm working it too."

"Didn't Umbridge, like, ban you— after you gave everyone the ministry test?" Harry suppressed a snort at the memory.

"Well she certainly isn't thrilled about this." Kate smirked. "But she doesn't know who exactly is an "educational expert" and I doubt she bothered to check either."

"Why do you ask? About my plans, I mean," said Harry.

"Well we could spend some time together, I thought—and Hermione also has something she wants me to set up—which I did— that requires your presence for a bit."

_**HOGSMEADE, FEB 14, 1996**_

"Where were you planning to go?" Harry asked as they entered Hogsmeade. The High Street was full of students ambling up and down, peering into the shop windows and messing about together on the pavements.

"Nowhere in particular—I _do _need to stay where I can see most of the students on the street," said Kate. "Shall we just have a look in the shops?"

They wandered toward Dervish and Banges. A large poster had been stuck up in the window and a few Hogsmeaders were looking at it. They moved aside when Harry and Kate approached and Harry found himself staring once more at the ten pictures of the escaped Death Eaters. The poster ("By Order of the Ministry of Magic") of- fered a thousand-Galleon reward to any witch or wizard with infor- mation relating to the recapture of any of the convicts pictured. People were muttering all around them.

"It's funny, isn't it," said someone in a low voice, also gazing up at the pictures of the Death Eaters.

"Remember when that Sirius Black escaped?" Another witch said.

"There were dementors all over Hogsmeade _last time_!" Someone complained.

"Ten Death Eaters are on the loose-"

"and there aren't dementors anywhere. . . ."

He and Kate exchanged looks as they listened, their own conversation dying. He was not sorry that there were no dementors nearby, but now he came to think of it, their absence was highly significant. They had not only let the Death Eaters escape, they were not bothering to look for them. . . . It looked as though they really were outside Ministry control now.

The ten escaped Death Eaters were staring out of every shop window he passed. Occasionally they would separate to make it seem like they were not hanging out together, but then they would drift back to each other and continue on their way, remarking on various things they saw. It started to rain as they passed Scrivenshaft's; cold, heavy drops of water kept hitting Harry's face and the back of his neck.

"Want to go to Tiff's?" Kate asked, hair beginning to stick to her head as it got increasingly more damp. "We have to be fast though... it's about time to meet up with Hermione anyway."

"Yeah, lets go." He reached a hand back to wipe the droplets off his neck.

They made their way to the rather full restaurant and ordered some sandwiches before heading back to the Three Broomsticks.

"Why didn't we just meet at Rogue's?" He asked as they ducked inside.

"Didn't want our—Ah, _guest _to associate any of us with it." Kate said. They stopped at the entrance and surveyed the scene. Harry saw something that caught his attention.

"I'll meet you guys in a minute, ok?" Harry said, "I want to talk to Hagrid first…"

Hagrid was sitting alone in a corner, looking morose.

"Sure." Kate agreed, "We'll wait."

"Hi, Hagrid!" he said, when he had squeezed through the crammed tables and pulled up a chair beside him.

Hagrid jumped and looked down at Harry as though he barely recognized him. Harry saw that he had two fresh cuts on his face and several new bruises.

"Oh, it's you, Harry," said Hagrid. "You all righ'?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Harry. "Er — are you okay?"

"Me?" said Hagrid. "Oh yeah, I'm grand, Harry, grand. . . ."

He gazed into the depths of his pewter tankard, which was the size of a large bucket, and sighed. Harry did not know what to say to him. They sat side by side in silence for a moment. Then Hagrid said abruptly, "In the same boat, you an' me, aren' we, Harry?"

"Er —" said Harry.

"Yeah . . . I've said it before. . . . Both outsiders, like," said Hagrid, nodding wisely. "An' both orphans. Yeah . . . both orphans."

He took a great swig from his tankard. "Makes a diff'rence, havin' a decent family," he said. "Me dad was decent. An' your mum an' dad were decent. If they'd lived, life woulda bin diff 'rent, eh?"

"Yeah . . ." said Harry cautiously. Hagrid seemed to be in a very strange mood.

"Family," said Hagrid gloomily. "Whatever yeh say, blood's important. . . ."

And he wiped a trickle of it out of his eye. "Hagrid," said Harry, unable to stop himself, "where are you getting all these injuries?"

"Eh?" said Hagrid, looking startled. "Wha' injuries?"

"All those!" said Harry, pointing at Hagrid's face.

"Oh . . . tha's jus' normal bumps an' bruises, Harry," said Hagrid dismissively. "I got a rough job." He drained his tankard, set it back upon the table, and got to his feet. "I'll be seein' yeh, Harry. . . . Take care now. . . ." And he lumbered out of the pub looking wretched and then disappeared into the torrential rain.

Harry watched him go, feeling concerned. Hagrid was unhappy and he was hiding something, but he seemed determined not to accept help. What was going on? But before Harry could think about the matter any further, he heard a voice calling his name.

"Harry! Harry, over here!"

Hermione was waving at him from the other side of the room. He got up and made his way toward her through the crowded pub. He was still a few tables away when he realized she was sitting at a table with a rather unlikely group of drinking mates: Kenna, Kate, and none other than Rita Skeeter, ex-journalist on the Daily Prophet and one of Hermione's least favorite people in the world.

"You're late." She said, but she didn't sound too upset, "I thought you'd be coming in with Kate!"

"Kate?" said Rita at once, twisting in her seat to stare at Harry before switching her eyes back to Kate and then bouncing back again. "You are on a first name basis with a professor? A new, young, and _single_ professor?"

She snatched up her crocodile-skin handbag and groped within it. "It's none of your business who Harry's friends with," Hermione told Rita coolly. "So you can put that away right now."

Rita had been on the point of withdrawing an acid-green quill from her bag. Looking as though she had been forced to swallow Stinksap, she snapped her bag shut again.

"What are you up to?" Harry asked, sitting down and staring from Rita to Luna to Hermione.

"Little Miss Perfect was just about to tell me when you arrived," said Rita, taking a large slurp of her drink. "I suppose I'm allowed to talk to him, am I?" she shot at Hermione.

"Yes, I suppose you are," said Hermione coldly.

Unemployment did not suit Rita. The hair that had once been set in elaborate curls now hung lank and unkempt around her face. The scarlet paint on her two-inch talons was chipped and there were a cou- ple of false jewels missing from her winged glasses. She took another great gulp of her drink and said out of the corner of her mouth, "Known each other a long time, Harry?"

"I'd strongly advise you drop it if you ever wish to publish another story." Kenna said evenly, her stare heated.

"And our deal will be off if that happens." Hermione added.

"What deal?" said Rita, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. "You haven't mentioned a deal yet, Miss Prissy, you just told me to turn up. Oh, one of these days . . ." She took a deep shuddering breath.

"Yes, yes, one of these days you'll write more horrible stories about Harry and me," said Hermione indifferently. "Find someone who cares, why don't you?"

"Think of this as an opportunity, Skeeter." Kenna said, "_Witch Weekly_ is one of the largest publications brands in the wizarding world. And our news magazines are perhaps the most highly respected in the world. You are fairly well-known, but an article in our news would boost your career."

"I'm listening…" Rita said sweetly, "What exactly is it you want me to cover? Potter's fall to insanity? The ministry's actions in education?"

"What Hermione tells you to cover." Kate said flatly, speaking for the first time. "_Honestly._"

"You want me to write an article on how Potter _feels_?" She asked mockingly, "Tell me Potter, the _Prophet _has been running your name through the mud. How has that made you feel? Angry? Betrayed? Confused?" Her eyes glinted maliciously.

"He feels angry, of course," said Hermione in a hard, clear voice. "Because he's told the Minister of Magic the truth and the Minister's too much of an idiot to believe him."

"So you actually stick to it, do you, that He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named is back?" said Rita, lowering her glass and subjecting Harry to a piercing stare while her finger strayed longingly to the clasp of the crocodile bag. "You stand by all this garbage Dumbledore's been telling everybody about You-Know-Who returning and you being the sole witness — ?"

"I wasn't the sole witness," snarled Harry. "There were a dozen-odd Death Eaters there as well. Want their names?"

"I'd love them," breathed Rita, now fumbling in her bag once more and gazing at him as though he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. "A great bold headline: 'Potter Accuses . . .' A subheading: 'Harry Potter Names Death Eaters Still Among Us.' And then, beneath a nice big photograph of you: 'Disturbed teenage survivor of You-Know- Who's attack, Harry Potter, 15, caused outrage yesterday by accusing re- spectable and prominent members of the Wizarding community of being Death Eaters. . . .' "

The Quick-Quotes Quill was actually in her hand and halfway to her mouth when the rapturous expression died out of her face.

"But of course," she said, lowering the quill and looking daggers at Hermione, "Little Miss Perfect wouldn't want that story out there, would she?"

"As a matter of fact," said Hermione sweetly, "that's exactly what Little Miss Perfect does want."

Rita stared at her. So did Harry.

"You want me to report what he says about He-Who-Must-Not- Be-Named?" Rita asked Hermione in a hushed voice. She glanced at Kenna and Kate.

"Yes, I do," said Hermione. "The true story. All the facts. Exactly as Harry reports them. He'll give you all the details, he'll tell you the names of the undiscovered Death Eaters he saw there, he'll tell you what Voldemort looks like now — oh, get a grip on yourself," she added contemptuously, watching Kate and Kenna hand napkins across the table, for at the sound of Voldemort's name, Rita had jumped so badly that she had slopped half her glass of firewhisky down herself.

Rita blotted the front of her grubby raincoat, still staring at Hermione. Then she said baldly, "The Prophet wouldn't print it. In case you haven't noticed, nobody believes his cock-and-bull story. Everyone thinks he's delusional."

"That's where I come in." Kenna said.

"You're going to _publish_ this farce?" Rita asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"Where? _Playwizard_?" Rita retorted rudely.

"In the letter from the editor's section of _The_ _International Herald Monthly_, _The Eccentric Economist, Witch Weekly, Wizard Weekly, The Practical Potioneer, Transfiguration Today, _and _Dark Arts Daily_."

Now it was Harry's turn to blink.

"And if I don't?"

"Well I suppose the Prophet might give you rather a lot for an insider's account of life in Azkaban. . . ." Kate said with a pleasant smile.

Rita looked as though she would have liked nothing better than to seize the paper umbrella sticking out of Hermione's drink and thrust it up her nose.

"I don't suppose I've got any choice, have I?" said Rita, her voice shaking slightly. She opened her crocodile bag once more, withdrew a piece of parchment, and raised her Quick-Quotes Quill.

"Okay, Harry?" said Hermione, turning to him. "Ready to tell the public the truth?"

"I suppose," said Harry, watching Rita balancing the Quick-Quotes Quill at the ready on the parchment between them.

"Fire away, then, Rita," said Hermione serenely, fishing a cherry out of the bottom of her glass.

A/N::: REVIEW!


	39. Chapter 39: You Never Know Who Knows Who

Chapter 39: You Never Know Who Is Friends With Who

The article's release was a wonderful day for Harry. Kenna had gotten the article out the first week of March, just in time for all of the magazines, newspapers, and journals she had wanted to have the interview to run them simultaneously. This meant that the entire world woke up to the same news and many had time to form an opinion and write it down before Harry sat down for breakfast that morning.

As such, he was surprised when an owl landed right in front of him.

"Who're you after?" he asked it, languidly removing his orange juice from underneath its beak and leaning forward to see the recipient's name and address:

_Harry Potter _

_Great Hall _

_Hogwarts School_

Frowning, he made to take the letter from the owl, but before he could do so, three, four, five more owls had fluttered down beside it and were jockeying for position, treading in the butter, knocking over the salt, and each attempting to give him their letters first.

"What's going on?" Ron asked in amazement, as the whole of Gryffindor table leaned forward to watch as another seven owls landed amongst the first ones, screeching, hooting, and flapping their wings.

"Harry!" said Hermione breathlessly, plunging her hands into the feathery mass and pulling out a screech owl bearing a long, cylindrical package. "I think I know what this means — open this one first!"

Harry ripped off the brown packaging. Out rolled a tightly furled copy of March's edition of _The International Herald_. He unrolled it to see his own face grinning sheepishly at him from the front cover. In large red letters across his picture were the words:

**HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:**

**THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN**

Skeeter certainly outdid herself, he thought as he scanned the article. And Kenna, true to her word, put it right on the front page as the letter from the editor (which was her).

Around him, Ron, Hermione, and even Fred and George, were ripping open envelopes from readers.

"This one's from a bloke who thinks you're off your rocker-"

"This woman recommends you try a good course of Shock Spells at St. Mungo's,"

"This one looks okay, though," said Harry slowly, scanning a long letter from a witch in Paisley. "Hey, she says she believes me!"

"This one's in two minds— says you don't come across as a mad person, but he really doesn't want to believe You-Know-Who's back so he doesn't know what to think now. . . . Blimey, what a waste of parchment . . ."

"Here's another one you've convinced, Harry! 'Having read your side of the story I am forced to the conclusion that the Daily Prophet has treated you very unfairly. . . . Little though I want to think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, I am forced to accept that you are telling the truth."

"Another one who thinks you're barking—"

"This one says you've got her converted, and she now thinks you're a real hero — she's put in a photograph too — wow —"

"What is going on here?" said a falsely sweet, girlish voice.

Harry looked up with his hands full of envelopes. Professor Umbridge was standing behind Fred and Luna, her bulging toad's eyes scanning the mess of owls and letters on the table in front of Harry. Behind her he saw many of the students watching them avidly.

"Why have you got all these letters, Mr. Potter?" she asked slowly.

"Is that a crime now?" said Fred loudly. "Getting mail?"

"Be careful, Mr. Weasley, or I shall have to put you in detention," said Umbridge.

"Well, Mr. Potter?"

Harry hesitated, but he did not see how he could keep what he had done quiet; it was surely only a matter of time before a copy of the article came to Umbridge's attention.

"People have written to me because I gave an interview," said Harry. "About what happened to me last June."

Kate was watching the whole exchange with extreme amusement, and he had the strangest feeling she wasn't the only one.

"An interview?" repeated Umbridge, her voice thinner and higher than ever. "What do you mean?"

"I mean a reporter asked me questions and I answered them," said Harry. "Here —"

And he threw the copy of _The International Herald_ at her. She caught it and stared down at the cover. Her pale, doughy face turned an ugly, patchy violet. (Rowling 579-581)

"How did _you_ get _The International Herald_—a respected paper— to publish your lies!?" Umbridge practically frothed.

"Not just _The International Herald_," said Lavender Brown from down the table, she looked rather pleased with herself (she had been quite upset at Trelawny's treatment at the hands of Umbridge), "it's in _Witch Weekly_, too." Indeed, clutched in her hand was a rolled up, brand new, copy of the latest addition of _Witch Weekly_.

Harry shrugged, playing nonchalant even though he wanted nothing more than to jump onto the table and do a happy little jig to the tune of Umbridge's steaming rage. "I didn't pick where Ms. Mayer put the interview, though she did say she'd put it everywhere."

Umbridge looked almost too stunned and angry to find an appropriate expression and ended up looking rather pained, "How do _you _know MaKenna Mayer?" She hissed.

"Doesn't everyone know who she is?" A non answer if he'd ever given one.

"When did you do this?"

"Last Hogsmeade weekend." Harry answered truthfully.

"Well...there will be no more Hogsmeade weekends for you—or Quidditch matches, Mr. Potter." She whispered, "How you dare….how you could…I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor."

Harry was too happy to care.

She stalked away, clutching _The International Herald_ to her chest, the eyes of many students following her.

By mid-morning enormous signs had been put up all over the school, banning every single thing published by Wizard International Publication, where Kenna was Editor-In-Chief of all their recurring magazines, newspapers, and the like.

This was where one of the Rogue's pranking rules came into play: what is banned shall be seen by all. And all day Harry heard quotes from the article whispered by students and teachers alike.

Hermione even reported that every occupant of the cubicles in the girls' toilets had been talking about it when she nipped in there before Ancient Runes.

"And then they spotted me, and obviously they know I know you, so they were bombarding me with questions," Hermione told Harry, her eyes shining, "and Harry, I think they believe you, I really do, I think you've finally got them convinced!"

Seamus even admitted that he believed Harry, for real this time, while Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle gave him dirty looks. They, of course, could not actually do anything because they would have to admit they'd read the article.

Meanwhile Professor Umbridge was stalking the school, stopping students at random and demanding that they turn out their books and pockets. Harry knew she was looking for copies of the banned papers, but the students were several steps ahead of her. The pages carrying Harry's interview had been bewitched to resemble extracts from textbooks if anyone but themselves read it, or else wiped magically blank until they wanted to peruse it again. Soon it seemed that every single person in the school had read it.

The teachers were, of course, forbidden from mentioning the interview by an Educational Decree, but they found ways to express their feelings about it all the same. Professor Sprout awarded Gryffindor twenty points when Harry passed her a watering can; a beaming Professor Flitwick pressed a box of squeaking sugar mice on him at the end of Charms, said "Shh!" and hurried away; and Professor Trelawney broke into hysterical sobs during Divination and announced to the startled class, and a very disapproving Umbridge, that Harry was not going to suffer an early death after all, but would live to a ripe old age, become Minister of Magic, and have twelve children.

Kate had loudly wondered whether Umbridge planned on confiscating all the textbooks in the school, seeing as they were all published by Wizard International's book publishing side (as opposed to the news and entertainment side) and gave him 30 points for telling her the correct date. She did not seem to care that she was part of the reason the article had happened at all. Little did Harry know, but she had already gotten as idea for some potential mayhem.

That night in Gryffindor tower, Harry was quite the hero. Fred and George put up a big poster and smuggled in some Butterbeer, people cheerfully congratulated him, and people passed around increasingly less appropriate insults for Umbridge. For Harry, unfortunately, his new Quidditch ban took front and center because Gryffindor was due to face Hufflepuff that very Saturday.

"POTTER!" Angelina Johnson thundered that evening in the common room. "You got yourself banned!?" She loomed over him, arms crossed and face set in a scowl, quite opposite to the rest of the room.

"I didn't think she'd ban me from Quidditch—it had nothing to do with _anything_…" Harry defended, a touch indignantly.

"YOU DIDN'T-" she nearly exploded before she was cut off.

"It was worth it-" Fred began as the twins wandered over.

"-to see Umbitch's reaction-" George continued.

"-and for a good cause."

"Really,"

"it was always going to happen-"

"so it might as well have been for this!" They finished in unison.

"Still!" Angelina huffed, "We have a match in _four_ days! What am I supposed to do!?"

Harry felt a pang of guilt. The Quidditch season was indeed in jeopardy because of him.

"There has to be someone here who knows how to play seeker—maybe—I dunno…" he trailed off, realizing that he had no idea if anyone else could even seek in Gryffindor.

"Exactly!" Angelina exclaimed furiously.

"I'm sorry—I really am, but I don't know what to tell you." Harry sighed, running a hand through his fringe, "But I don't regret giving that interview." He said firmly.

Angelina glared at him for a moment longer before deflating, "I know. I don't either."

Harry gave her a weak smile. "It'll work out."

Umbridge's bad week only got worse. By the afternoon following the publication of Harry's interview and the subsequent banning of Kenna's publisher, word had gotten around that _technically_, most of the textbooks were banned material. That led to students stacking all their "banned" books outside Umbridge's office and overflowing the corridor. The ensuing chaos had been a joy to witness.

The professors had been part furious and part smug as their teaching was severely hindered by the lack of books. Umbridge had spent hours clearing nearly a thousand books from in front of her office door and appeared at the end of dinner with her hair in disarray and clothes ruffled. Her face was flushed and she was huffing and puffing as she staggered in, ignoring the stares and snickers of the student body.

The following morning the amendment to the decree was posted in all the classrooms and students were told to report to the High Inquisitor to get their books back. Umbridge was on a warpath to find out who had started that trend, but nobody would say anything.

Claims of "I just thought that was the right thing to do" and "I overheard someone in the library—I don't know who" ran through the school, leading Umbridge on a wild goose chase. Harry wondered how Kate had managed to completely evade blame.

The quidditch match on Saturday had been much less of a disaster for Gryffindor than anticipated. Ginny Weasley has been made seeker in his place to the collective shock of the Weasley brothers, but Harry wasn't sure he was surprised. Really, it was a perfectly normal match because Ginny managed to catch the snitch in less than half an hour while everyone else functioned like a well oiled machine.

It was the following Monday that Harry saw Cella for the first time in months.

_**WITH CELLA THAT DAY**_

"It is completely necessary and the United States will not agree to a deal without it." James Bucknell, American Secretary of State (American equivalent of the International Cooperation department), said firmly.

"We've already agreed to nearly every one of your demands!" Fudge blustered angrily.

"And we have agreed to quite a few of yours." Cella interceded smoothly. "You wanted us to secure the wards Azkaban, you wanted Team 6 to track down your missing prisoners—they will provide aid and training—_and _you wanted equipment and information. We agreed to all of it."

"For _millions _of galleons! _And _our own secrets!" Edward Bartleby retorted heatedly. Bartleby had replaced Barry Crouch as Head of the Department of International Cooperation.

"I see no reason to argue about the already agreed on terms—all parties were perfectly happy with them." Amelia Bones cut in from her place further down the table.

"Quite right." Cella agreed, "But this is the most important part." She said.

"It's preposterous! Unprecedented!" Fudge snapped.

"We are providing you with valuable and _dangerous_ resources. We cannot allow them to fall into the wrong hands!" Margaret Lopez countered. Lopez, a short Latina woman, was seated at the end of the table and served as the Secretary of Defense (Head of the DMLE).

"The British Ministry of Magic will never fall." Fudge insisted, "Putting this in is completely redundant!"

"Then it shouldn't matter if we wish to have it." Sameul Quahog said pleasantly. Quahog was an ambitious young Wizard from Oklahoma and the Treasury Secretary.

"He has a point, minister." Madam Bones pointed out.

"It's the principle of the matter!" Fudge exclaimed.

A red headed man Cella recognized as Percy Weasley, who was sitting across from Lopez, agreed, "It is an outrage, minister!"

"There is no deal if the British Ministry of Magic does not recognize that, should they fall to an enemy, internal or external, the US will declare war on the new government if it is deemed a national security with the resources given in our deal today." Cella said flatly, knowing that they'd won.

Fudge crossed his arms stubbornly and rocked back in his chair with a huff. "Fine." He ground out after receiving a glare from Madam Bones.

He and Cella shook hands. "It is always a pleasure doing business with our strongest ally." She said cheerfully, relieved that the meeting was over.

"Shall we adjourn for lunch then?" Bartleby suggested politely. A quick round of agreements and the delegates from both sides were making their way out of the room.

"Right this way, Madam President." Bartleby gestured for her and her entourage to follow him.

The US delegation for this particular meeting (to discuss the defense deal Fudge had decided he wanted) included herself, the Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, Secretary of Defense, her own personal secretary, several underlings, and her security detail. From the British side, Fudge was accompanied by the Heads of the DMLE, International Cooperation, his junior undersecretary, and the head of the Budgeting committee in the Wizengamot, a Witch by the name of Bexley Ohforth.

Lunch was an elaborate affair with much grandstanding and many trivial formalities as well as a large dose of press to make Fudge look good. Fortunately for him, the deal was actually rather good, considering what Cella _could _have done had she not had a vested interest in making sure Britain survived the coming war. After lunch, Cella managed to convince Fudge to take her on a tour of Hogwarts, the prestigious institution that it was.

Thus, she was ushered into the Entrance Hall of the famed castle and greeted by a rather harried woman clad in pink standing in front of several much more recognizable staff members, all of whom looked annoyed. The woman, who she realized must have been Umbridge, resembled a toad with an obnoxious, fake voice.

"Welcome, Madam President, to Hogwarts."

"Thank you." Cella said politely, "Professor…?"

"Dolores Umbridge, Hogwarts High Inquisitor and Senior Undersecretary to the Minister." The woman seemed to think that Cella ought to be impressed as she offered her hand. Cella shook it politely and then stepped around her.

She couldn't stop her face from brightening when she saw Kate, even though she started her greetings with Dumbledore (as was polite).

"Pleasure to see you again, Headmaster." She said.

"Likewise." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled slightly as they shook hands.

"Professor McGonagall." She said, offering her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you." McGonagall said politely.

"You as well." Cella answered before moving on. Professor Snape and Professor Sprout were the other two before, finally, Kate.

"Professor Ross." She said slowly as she got in front of Kate, not caring that everybody was probably watching this to determine whose side of the little divide she was on with Dumbledore and Fudge. "Merlin, that's _weird_."

Kate snorted.

"The irony of you being a _teacher _after all the pranks we pulled…"

"Says the one who ended up the chief law _enforcement_ officer of the United States." Kate retorted, face reflecting Cella's own grin.

They embraced quickly and then turned and faced the rest of their group, who was staring at them in varying states of shock and dismay.

"I believe Cornelius said something about a tour?" She asked cheerfully.

The other professors looked either amused or gleeful, or a combination of the two.

Umbridge looked like she might burst a vein in her head.

A/N:: REVIEWS MOTIVATE ME! Also check out my other story (the one with the cringe-worthy name), its a Marvel crossover if you're interested in that kind of thing.


	40. Chapter 40: Breakups

Chapter 40: Breakups

Harry was quite excited to see Cella at dinner and glad they managed to get a quick word in private before she left. He was also more than happy to watch as Umbridge was forced to suck up to Kate over the next few days as news of the impending Defense deal between the US and Britain broke. With Kate being so close (and subsequently influential) to Cella, it was critical that she play nice while the deal was finalized and voted on in both the Wizengamot and MACUSA. Kate didn't make it easy and suddenly Dumbledore, in the Ministry's eyes, had the upper hand.

The response was swift, Sprout, McGonagall, Flitwick, Burbage (the muggle studies professor according to Hermione) and Vector (arithmancy Professor) all joined Hagrid and Trelawney on probation. It was an outrage that swept the school as many students woke up and saw what was happening right in front of them.

There wasn't a student who hadn't had at least one professor they liked put on a ridiculous probation while Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff were all outraged at the fact their Heads of Houses had been "humiliated" and "disrespected" in such a manner.

Even the Slytherins seemed to agree that Umbridge had gone too far. They did not whisper in the corridors or pull pranks like the other houses, but they did rebel subtly. Many stopped going to Umbridge to tell on other students and were...nicer...Harry supposed was the best word. The bullies in the upper years ceased to pick on the younger years of other houses and, in some cases, Slytherins could be seen actually _helping_ other houses.

Even Draco Malfoy, whom Harry thought would've taken full advantage of the situation, like he had with Hagrid, was strangely quiet. Often, he could be found hidden by himself in the library, according to Hermione. To Harry's outrage, his newfound quietness also manifested in the blonde Slytherin seeking out Kate and Harry was supremely annoyed every time he entered her office as Malfoy left, often without even a sneer at him.

Fred and George ramped up their pranks against Umbridge specifically, and Lee Jordan joined them by unleashing a niffler in her office.

Hermione was probably the most outraged that so many "perfectly wonderful" teachers had been treated so horrendously by the "horrible, foul and evil hag" that had invaded their school. She went on a furious recruiting drive for the DA in response. Everyday she sat in the library, in the courtyard, by the lake, and whispered furiously with other angry students.

Phrases like "spite the toad" and "ministry morons" could be heard as she gestured wildly and the students watched her, incredulously at first, and then nodding their heads in agreement as they walked away several minutes later. Hermione's hair would always become frazzled and more bushy as this was occurring.

She dragged Harry and Ron with her and they persuaded what felt like half the school to join their somewhat illegal club.

Eventually, Harry had to split up DA sessions into two, the older years one day and the younger years the next. Blessedly, the secret remained intact as Umbridge didn't seem to have any clue where half the school was disappearing off to periodically.

The week had its downsides though.

For one thing, Harry got two D's in potions from a particularly spiteful Snape, and for another, it seemed as if every class he was in, Umbridge was also in. She would sit in the back of the classroom writing little marks on her clipboard (or pretending to) and making small noises while she eyed everyone with that disgusting little smirk.

Kate seemed more stressed than usual; her face was not wearing its perpetual smile and she often would show up for dinner last of all the professors and leave first. Normally she wore her hair down but for the fifth day in a row it was up in a tight bun, something she only wore when she wanted it out of her face—when she was reading (she used ponytails or braids for duels).

The mystery of what exactly was causing his sister's stress seemed to be a constant in the back of his mind, but never quite came to the forefront. No, the thing on the forefront of his mind happened when a scream tore through the castle one evening while Harry, Ron, and Hermione were doing their homework.

The first scream got everyone's attention, the second caused them all to run towards the sound.

The screams were coming from the entrance hall; they grew louder as Harry ran toward the stone steps leading down from the library. When they reached the bottom he found the entrance hall packed. Students had come flooding out of the Great Hall, where dinner was still in progress, to see what was going on. Others had crammed themselves onto the marble staircase. Harry pushed forward through a knot of tall Slytherins and saw that the onlookers had formed a great ring, some of them looking shocked, others even frightened. Professor McGonagall was directly opposite Harry on the other side of the hall; she looked as though what she was watching made her feel faintly sick.

Professor Trelawney was standing in the middle of the entrance hall with her wand in one hand and an empty sherry bottle in the other, looking utterly mad. Her hair was sticking up on end, her glasses were lopsided so that one eye was magnified more than the other; her innumerable shawls and scarves were trailing haphazardly from her shoulders, giving the impression that she was falling apart at the seams. Two large trunks lay on the floor beside her, one of them upside down; it looked very much as though it had been thrown down the stairs after her. Professor Trelawney was staring, apparently terrified, at something Harry could not see but that seemed to be standing at the foot of the stairs.

"No!" she shrieked. "NO! This cannot be happening. . . . It cannot . . . I refuse to accept it!"

"You didn't realize this was coming?" said a high girlish voice, sounding callously amused, and Harry, moving slightly to his right, saw that Trelawney's terrifying vision was nothing other than Umbridge flanked by two men in scarlet robes. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable you would be sacked?"

"You c-can't!" howled Professor Trelawney, tears streaming down her face from behind her enormous lenses, "you c-can't sack me! I've b-been here sixteen years! H-Hogwarts is m-my h-home!"

"It was your home," said Umbridge, and Harry was revolted to see the enjoyment stretching her toadlike face as she watched Professor Trelawney sink, sobbing uncontrollably, onto one of her trunks, "until an hour ago, when the Minister of Magic countersigned the order for your dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this hall. You are embarrassing us."

But she stood and watched, with an expression of gloating enjoyment, as Professor Trelawney shuddered and moaned, rocking backward and forward on her trunk in paroxysms of grief. Harry heard a sob to his left and looked around.

Lavender and Parvati were both crying silently, their arms around each other. Professor Snape had arrived while the exchange had been happening; with Kate apparently, because she was standing just behind his left shoulder, expression inscrutable as she observed the scene. She made eye contact with Harry and her eyes sparkled—with anger or mischief he couldn't tell from his position. Then he heard footsteps. Professor McGonagall had broken away from the spectators, marched straight up to Professor Trelawney and was patting her firmly on the back while withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes.

"There, there, Sibyll . . . Calm down. . . . Blow your nose on this. . . . It's not as bad as you think, now. . . . You are not going to have to leave Hogwarts. . . ."

"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" said Umbridge in a deadly voice, taking a few steps forward; the men in scarlet—Aurors, he thought absently—did not follow. "And your authority for that statement is . . . ?"

"That would be mine," said a deep voice.

The oak front doors had swung open. Students beside them scuttled out of the way as Dumbledore appeared in the entrance. What he had been doing out in the grounds Harry could not imagine, but there was something impressive about the sight of him framed in the doorway against an oddly misty night. Leaving the doors wide behind him, he strode forward through the circle of onlookers toward the place where Professor Trelawney sat, tearstained and trembling, upon her trunk, Professor McGonagall alongside her.

"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" said Umbridge with a singularly unpleasant little laugh. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here" — she pulled a parchment scroll from within her robes — "an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister of Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation, and sack any teacher she — that is to say, I — feel is not performing up to the standard required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."

To Harry's very great surprise, Dumbledore continued to smile. He looked down at Professor Trelawney, who was still sobbing and choking on her trunk, and said, "You are quite right, of course, Madam Umbridge. As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid," he went on, with a courteous little bow, "that the power to do that still resides with the headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts."

At this, Professor Trelawney gave a wild little laugh in which a hiccup was barely hidden. "No — no, I'll g-go, Dumbledore! I sh-shall l-leave Hogwarts and s-seek my fortune elsewhere —"

"No," said Dumbledore sharply. "It is my wish that you remain, Sibyll."

He turned to Professor McGonagall. "Might I ask you to escort Sibyll back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?"

"Of course," said McGonagall. "Up you get, Sibyll. . . ."

Professor Sprout came hurrying forward out of the crowd and grabbed Professor Trelawney's other arm. Together they guided her past Umbridge and up the marble stairs. Professor Flitwick went scurrying after them, his wand held out before him; he squeaked, "Locomotor trunks!" and Professor Trelawney's luggage rose into the air and proceeded up the staircase after her, Professor Flitwick bringing up the rear.

"Absolutely not!" Umbridge cried furiously. "Aurors, stop them!" The two men, one short with short brown hair a mustache, and the other with dirty blonde hair tied into a small ponytail, drew their wands and stepped forward. They seemed to hesitate, however, faced down with Professor Dumbledore, who had yet to make any movement (mainly for his wand) that he was concerned about their presence.

Umbridge, on the other hand, was slowly turning red as her arm twitched irritably towards the professors' procession. "Go!" She hissed.

The two men, whom Harry was now quite sure did _not_ wish to duel with the Headmaster both flourished their wands silently.

Nothing happened. Whispers broke out as the Aurors waved their wands again, in confusion this time. They even spoke their incantations aloud.

Ripples of laughter began to make their way around, students snickering and pointing.

"Need some help!?" Someone yelled mockingly from in the crowd.

"At least shoot some sparks or _something_!" Another student snorted over the din. More laughter and even Harry could feel his own face forming a large smile.

"Someone needs to learn how to use their wand!" Another student crowed, from another direction. Harry watched Kate's smug smirk as the Aurors continued to flounder and wondered what exactly she had done. Was it the same thing she said she did to those Samhain followers over the summer?

"Well you've come to the right place for learning magic!" Another student exclaimed gleefully. Even the remaining professors were struggling to contain their mirth.

Umbridge was standing stockstill, staring at Dumbledore, who continued to smile benignly.

"That's enough!" She shrieked hysterically, giving away her own horror at the scene unfolding.

The Aurors stopped their floundering and beat a hasty retreat to the periodic snickers of the crowd. Eventually they quieted as attention turned back to the High Inquisitor, who looked like steam would be coming from her ears at any moment.

"And what," she said in a whisper that nevertheless carried all around the entrance hall, "are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "You see, I have already found us a new Divination teacher, and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."

"You've found — ?" said Umbridge shrilly. "You've found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Twenty-two —"

"— the Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if — and only if — the headmaster is unable to find one," said Dumbledore. "And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"

He turned to face the open front doors, through which night mist was now drifting. Harry heard hooves. There was a shocked murmur around the hall and those nearest the doors hastily moved even farther backward, some of them tripping over in their haste to clear a path for the newcomer.

Through the mist came a face Harry had seen once before on a dark, dangerous night in the Forbidden Forest: white-blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes, the head and torso of a man joined to the palomino body of a horse.

"This is Firenze," said Dumbledore happily to a thunderstruck Umbridge. "I think you'll find him suitable."

_**BEGINNING OF MARCH, HOGWARTS**_

The entire castle was buzzing with rumors about Firenze the centaur. Lavender and Parvati wasted no time gloating to Hermione about being taught by a centaur—and reminding her that she had dropped divination—but she did not seem to care.

Divination with Firenze was different. They were in classroom eleven instead of the North Tower because he could not climb the latter. The classroom was decorated like a forest and Firenze spent most of the class discussing stargazing while Harry wondered who had kicked the kind centaur in the chest.

Firenze also seemed intent on reminding the class of the fact that divination was a very vague subject that was often useless because it was hard to correctly interpret your findings. As such, Harry walked away from the class with no more than a vague warning that there was something coming. Helpful.

Instead, Harry and Ron focused on something much more important...to them. The Professional Quidditch League matches had started.

The league matches were the most important matches for every club; they spent the fall playing exhibition matches with teams usually outside their own league and then the winter was for training. Spring was when the league started and every team played every other team twice (summer was for national team competitions).

Opening weekend saw the Cannons get flattened by the Ballycastle Bats, while Puddlemere United beat the Appleby Arrows, the Montrose Magpies beat Wimbourne Wasps, and the Holyhead Harpies and Tutshill Tornados had what was apparently a match for the ages. Several other matches were played later that week as well, Pride of Portree vs. Falmouth Falcons and the Caerphilly Catapults played the Kenmare Kestrels. The Wigtown Wanderers did not play until the following week, where they lost to the Tornados.

Most important for Harry was that Jamie did not allow a single goal in her opening matches and indeed, as March went along and the Easter Holidays approached, it became clear she well deserved to be considered the best keeper in the league.

The other thing in the news was the finalization of the agreement between Britain and MACUSA, which naturally, did not get very many mentions amongst the student body. Kate assured Harry that the professors had discussed it at length behind Umbridge's back.

Unfortunately, as March blurred into April, his life seemed to want to become one long series of worries and problems.

Umbridge had continued attending all Care of Magical Creatures lessons, so it had been very difficult to warn Hagrid. At last Harry had managed it by pretending he had lost his copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and doubling back after class one day.

"Hagrid you've got to be careful, Umbridge has already sacked Trelawney and if you ask me, she's on a roll." Harry said seriously. "Even Professor Ross was worried about you." Indeed, Kate had told him to try and help Hagrid with his classes if he could, because she could not seem to get through to him.

"There's things more importan' than keepin' a job," said Hagrid, though his hands shook slightly as he said this and a basin full of knarl droppings crashed to the floor. "Don' worry abou' me, Harry, jus' get along now, there's a good lad. . . ."

Harry had no choice but to leave Hagrid mopping up the dung all over his floor, but he felt thoroughly worried as he trudged back up to the castle.

Meanwhile, as the teachers and Hermione persisted in reminding them, the O.W.L.s were drawing ever nearer. All the fifth years were suffering from stress to some degree, but Hannah Abbott became the first to receive a Calming Draught from Madam Pomfrey after she burst into tears during Herbology and sobbed that she was too stupid to take exams and wanted to leave school now.

If it had not been for the D.A. lessons and Kate's constant presence, Harry thought he would have been extremely unhappy. He sometimes felt that he was living for the hours he spent in the Room of Requirement, working hard but thoroughly enjoying himself at the same time, swelling with pride as he looked around at his fellow D.A. members and saw how far they had come. He wondered if Kate ever felt like that, knowing her, she probably did. Kate was another woe of his, she was so wrapped up in whatever she was doing that it seemed they only saw each other for class and his little lessons. Sometimes he wondered, unfairly perhaps, if she saw Draco Malfoy more than him.

In other news, the older class of the DA had finally started work on Patronuses, which everybody had been very keen to practice, though as Harry kept reminding them, producing a Patronus in the middle of a brightly lit classroom when they were not under threat was very different to producing it when confronted by something like a dementor.

"Oh, don't be such a killjoy," said Cho brightly, watching her silvery swan-shaped Patronus soar around the Room of Requirement during their last lesson before Easter. "They're so pretty!"

"They're not supposed to be pretty, they're supposed to protect you," said Harry patiently. "What we really need is a boggart or something; that's how I learned, I had to conjure a Patronus while the boggart was pretending to be a dementor —"

"But that would be really scary!" said Lavender, who was shooting puffs of silver vapor out of the end of her wand. "And I still — can't — do it!" she added angrily.

Neville was having trouble too. His face was screwed up in concentration, but only feeble wisps of silver smoke issued from his wand tip. "You've got to think of something happy," Harry reminded him.

"I'm trying," said Neville miserably, who was trying so hard his round face was actually shining with sweat.

"Harry, I think I'm doing it!" yelled Seamus, "Look — ah — it's gone. . . . But it was definitely something hairy, Harry!"

Hermione's Patronus, a shining silver otter, was gamboling around her.

"They are sort of nice, aren't they?" she said, looking at it fondly.

The door of the Room of Requirement opened and then closed again; Harry looked around to see who had entered, but there did not seem to be anybody there. It was a few moments before he realized that the people close to the door had fallen silent. Next thing he knew, something was tugging at his robes somewhere near the knee. He looked down and saw, to his very great astonishment, Dobby the house-elf peering up at him from beneath his usual eight hats.

"Hi, Dobby!" he said. "What are you — what's wrong?"

For the elf's eyes were wide with terror and he was shaking. The members of the D.A. closest to Harry had fallen silent now: Everybody in the room was watching Dobby. The few Patronuses people had managed to conjure faded away into silver mist, leaving the room looking much darker than before.

"Harry Potter, sir . . ." squeaked the elf, trembling from head to foot, "Harry Potter, sir . . . Dobby has come to warn you . . . but the house-elves have been warned not to tell . . ."

He ran headfirst at the wall: Harry, who had some experience of Dobby's habits of self-punishment, made to seize him, but Dobby merely bounced off the stone, cushioned by his eight hats. Hermione and a few of the other girls let out squeaks of fear and sympathy.

"What's happened, Dobby?" Harry asked, grabbing the elf's tiny arm and holding him away from anything with which he might seek to hurt himself.

"Harry Potter . . . she . . . she . . ."

Dobby hit himself hard on the nose with his free fist: Harry seized that too.

"Who's 'she,' Dobby?"

But he thought he knew — surely only one "she" would induce such fear in Dobby? The elf looked up at him, slightly cross-eyed, and mouthed wordlessly.

"Umbridge?" asked Harry, horrified.

Dobby nodded, then tried to bang his head off Harry's knees; Harry held him at bay.

"What about her? Dobby — she hasn't found out about this — about us — about the D.A.?"

He read the answer in the elf's stricken face. His hands held fast by Harry, the elf tried to kick himself and fell to the floor.

"Is she coming?" Harry asked quietly.

Dobby let out a howl, and began beating his bare feet hard on the floor. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"

Harry straightened up and looked around at the motionless, terrified people gazing at the thrashing elf.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Harry bellowed. "RUN!"

They all pelted toward the exit at once, forming a scrum at the door, then people burst through; Harry could hear them sprinting along the corridors and hoped they had the sense not to try and make it all the way to their dormitories. It was only ten to nine, if they just took refuge in the library or the Owlery, which were both nearer...

"Harry, come on!" shrieked Hermione from the center of the knot of people now fighting to get out.

He scooped up Dobby, who was still attempting to do himself serious injury, and ran with the elf in his arms to join the back of the queue.

"Dobby — this is an order — get back down to the kitchen with the other elves, and if she asks you whether you warned me, lie and say no!" said Harry. "And I forbid you to hurt yourself!" he added, dropping the elf as he made it over the threshold at last and slamming the door behind him.

"Thank you, Harry Potter!" squeaked Dobby, and he streaked off.

Harry glanced left and right, the others were all moving so fast that he caught only glimpses of flying heels at either end of the corridor before they vanished. He started to run right; there was a boys' bathroom up ahead, he could pretend he'd been in there all the time if he could just reach it!

"AAARGH!"

He should have sensed Malfoy. Kate would've taken him to task for being oblivious to his surroundings. As it were, when he felt something grab his ankles, he fell face first and skidded several feet before he rolled onto his back and saw a conflicted looking Draco Malfoy. He wondered absently if Kate had taught him to aim so well.

"Trip Jinx, Potter!" he said. "Madam — MADAM! I've got one!"

Umbridge came bustling around the far corner, breathless but wearing a delighted smile.

"It's him!" she said jubilantly at the sight of Harry on the floor. "Excellent, Draco, excellent, oh, very good — fifty points to Slytherin! I'll take him from here. . . . Stand up, Potter!"

Harry got to his feet, glaring at the pair of them. He had never seen Umbridge looking so happy. She seized his arm in a vicelike grip and turned, beaming broadly, to Malfoy. "You hop along and see if you can round up anymore of them, Draco," she said. "Tell the others to look in the library — anybody out of breath — check the bathrooms, Miss Parkinson can do the girls' ones and then meet us in the Headmaster's office — off you go — and you," she added in her softest, most dangerous voice, as Malfoy walked away. "You can come with me to the headmaster's office now, Potter."

A/N::: I love reviews, and yes, I love giving Umbridge what she deserves, that's all I'll say about what is coming. REVIEW and THANK YOU SO MUCH to those that do!


	41. Chapter 41: Traitors and Turncoats

Chapter 41: Traitors and Turncoats

The office was full of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his long fingers together. Professor McGonagall stood rigidly beside him, her face extremely tense. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, was rocking backward and forward on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation. Kingsley Shacklebolt and a tough-looking wizard Harry did not recognize with very short, wiry hair were positioned on either side of the door like guards, and the freckled, bespectacled form of Percy Weasley hovered excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands, apparently poised to take notes.

The portraits of old headmasters and mistresses were not faking sleep tonight. All of them were watching what was happening below, alert and serious. As Harry entered, a few flitted into neighboring frames and whispered urgently into their neighbors' ears.

Harry pulled himself free of Umbridge's grasp as the door swung shut behind them. Cornelius Fudge was glaring at him with a kind of vicious satisfaction upon his face.

"Well," he said. "Well, well, well . . ."

Harry forced himself to not react, to stay _calm_, as his sister would say was the best way to get out of tough situations. His heart drummed madly inside him, but his brain was oddly cool and clear.

"He was heading back to Gryffindor Tower," said Umbridge. There was an indecent excitement in her voice, the same callous pleasure Harry had heard as she watched Professor Trelawney dissolving with misery in the entrance hall. "The Malfoy boy cornered him."

"I was headed to the bathroom!" Harry cut in.

"Did he, did he?" said Fudge appreciatively, ignoring Harry's outburst. "I must remember to tell Lucius. Well, Potter . . . I expect you know why you are here?"

Harry's decision on how to play this was reinforced a moment later when he caught sight of Dumbledore's face. Dumbledore was not looking directly at Harry; his eyes were fixed upon a point just over his shoulder, but as Harry stared at him, he shook his head a fraction of an inch to each side.

"No."

"I beg your pardon?" said Fudge.

"No," said Harry, firmly.

"You don't know why you are here?"

"No, I don't," said Harry.

Fudge looked incredulously from Harry to Umbridge; Harry took advantage of his momentary inattention to steal another quick look at Dumbledore, who gave the carpet the tiniest of nods and the shadow of a wink.

"So you have no idea," said Fudge in a voice positively sagging with sarcasm, "why Madam Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?"

"School rules?" said Harry. "No."

"Or Ministry decrees?" amended Fudge angrily.

"Not that I'm aware of," said Harry blandly.

His heart was still hammering very fast. It was a technicality, but the DA was _not _illegal because they had approval from Kate. As it were, that was his ace in the hole, and in the meantime, it was fun to watch Fudge's blood pressure rising.

"So it's news to you, is it," said Fudge, his voice now thick with anger, "that an illegal student organization has been discovered within this school?"

"Yes, it is," said Harry, hoisting a look of innocent surprise onto his face with Occlumency.

"I think, Minister," said Umbridge silkily from beside him, "we might make better progress if I fetch our informant."

"Yes, yes, do," said Fudge, nodding, and he glanced maliciously at Dumbledore as Umbridge left the room. "There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?"

"Nothing at all, Cornelius," said Dumbledore gravely, inclining his head.

There was a wait of several minutes, in which nobody looked at each other, then Harry heard the door open behind him. Umbridge moved past him into the room, gripping by the shoulder Cho's curly-haired friend Marietta, who was hiding her face in her hands. Malfoy was following behind them, smirking widely at Harry and then Dumbledore.

"Don't be scared, dear, don't be frightened," said Umbridge softly, patting her on the back, "it's quite all right, now. You have done the right thing. The minister is very pleased with you. He'll be telling your mother what a good girl you've been. Marietta's mother, Minister," she added, looking up at Fudge, "is Madam Edgecombe from the Department of Magical Transportation. Floo Network office — she's been helping us police the Hogwarts fires, you know."

"Jolly good, jolly good!" said Fudge heartily. "Like mother, like daughter, eh? Well, come on, now, dear, look up, don't be shy, let's hear what you've got to — galloping gargoyles!"

As Marietta raised her head, Fudge leapt backward in shock, nearly landing himself in the fire. He cursed and stamped on the hem of his cloak, which had started to smoke, and Marietta gave a wail and pulled the neck of her robes right up to her eyes, but not before the whole room had seen that her face was horribly disfigured by a series of close-set purple pustules that had spread across her nose and cheeks to form the word "SNEAK."

"Never mind the spots now, dear," said Umbridge impatiently, "just take your robes away from your mouth and tell the Minister —"

But Marietta gave another muffled wail and shook her head frantically.

"Oh, very well, you silly girl, I'll tell him," snapped Umbridge. She hitched her sickly smile back onto her face and said, "Well, Minister, Miss Edgecombe here came to my office shortly after dinner this evening and told me she had something she wanted to tell me. She said that if I proceeded to a secret room on the seventh floor, sometimes known as the Room of Requirement, I would find out something to my advantage. I questioned her a little further and she admitted that there was to be some kind of meeting there. Unfortunately at that point this hex," she waved impatiently at Marietta's concealed face, "came into operation and upon catching sight of her face in my mirror the girl became too distressed to tell me any more."

"Well, now," said Fudge, fixing Marietta with what he evidently imagined was a kind and fatherly look. "It is very brave of you, my dear, coming to tell Madam Umbridge, you did exactly the right thing. Now, will you tell me what happened at this meeting? What was its purpose? Who was there?"

But Marietta would not speak. She merely shook her head again, her eyes wide and fearful.

"Haven't we got a counterjinx for this?" Fudge asked Umbridge impatiently, gesturing at Marietta's face. "So she can speak freely?"

"I have not yet managed to find one," Umbridge admitted grudgingly, and Harry felt a surge of pride in Hermione's jinxing ability. "But it doesn't matter if she won't speak, I can take up the story from here.

"You will remember, Minister, that I sent you a report back in October that Potter had met a number of fellow students—"

"And what is your evidence for that?" cut in Professor McGonagall.

"I have testimony from Willy Widdershins, Minerva, who happened to be in the bar at the time. He was heavily bandaged, it is true, but his hearing was quite unimpaired," said Umbridge smugly. "He saw Potter and his little band—"

"Oh, so that's why he wasn't prosecuted for setting up all those regurgitating toilets!" said Professor McGonagall, raising her eyebrows. "What an interesting insight into our justice system!"

"Blatant corruption!" roared the portrait of the corpulent, red-nosed wizard on the wall behind Dumbledore's desk. "The Ministry did not cut deals with petty criminals in my day, no sir, they did not!"

"Thank you, Fortescue, that will do," said Dumbledore softly.

"The purpose of Potter's meeting with these students," continued Professor Umbridge, "was to persuade them to join an illegal society, whose aim was to learn spells and curses the Ministry has decided are inappropriate for school-age —"

"I think you'll find you're wrong there, Dolores," said Dumbledore quietly, peering at her over the half-moon spectacles perched halfway down his crooked nose.

Harry stared at him. He did not know what Dumbledore's game on this was; if Willy Widdershins had indeed heard every word he said in Rogue's Rendezvous—not that that was possible (but he couldn't admit that)—there was simply no escaping it based on what Dumbledore knew...assuming he didn't know that they had approval—maybe he did?

"Oho!" said Fudge, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet again. "Yes, do let's hear the latest cock-and-bull story designed to pull Potter out of trouble! Go on, then, Dumbledore, go on — Willy Widdershins was lying, was he? Or was it Potter's identical twin in the cafe that day? Or is there the usual simple explanation involving a reversal of time, a dead man coming back to life, and a couple of invisible dementors?"

Percy Weasley let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh, very good, Minister, very good!"

Harry could have kicked him. Then he saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore was smiling gently too. Harry's curiosity prevented him from intervening.

"Cornelius, I do not deny — and nor, I am sure, does Harry —that he was in Rogue's Rendezvous that day, nor that he was meeting with students. I am merely pointing out that Dolores is quite wrong to suggest that such a group was, at that time, illegal. If you remember, the Ministry decree banning all student societies was not put into effect until two days after Harry's Hogsmeade meeting, so he was not breaking any rules in Rogue's Rendezvous at all. Furthermore, you have not said that you know they were even discussing anything Defense Against the Dark Arts related."

Percy looked as though he had been struck in the face by something very heavy. Fudge remained motionless in mid-bounce, his mouth hanging open.

Umbridge recovered first.

"That's all very fine, Headmaster," she said, smiling sweetly. "But we are now nearly six months on from the introduction of Educational Decree Number Twenty-four. If the first meeting was not illegal, all those that have happened since most certainly are."

"Well," said Dumbledore, surveying her with polite interest over the top of his interlocked fingers, "they certainly would be, if they had continued after the decree came into effect. Do you have any evidence that these meetings continued?"

As Dumbledore spoke, Harry heard a rustle behind him and rather thought Kingsley whispered something. He could have sworn too that he felt something brush against his side, a gentle something like a draft or bird wings, but looking down he saw nothing there. Kingsley had cast a spell, he was certain.

"They did continue." Harry spoke up, figuring now would be a wonderful time to shock the whole office. "I taught everyone DADA stuff that wasn't covered in class, Professor Ross said that it's actually helping her catch everyone up to where they should be."

Dumbledore was giving him a very hard stare while Professor McGonagall was looking at him horror struck. Even Kingsley looked at him in alarm. He simply smiled innocently.

"So you admit it?" Demanded Fudge, looked from him to Dumbledore, his chest swelling. "You have been plotting against me!" he yelled. "An illegal group—" he paused when Harry spoke again.

"Sure." Harry shrugged, "There is DADA club to supplement the class."

"Weasley!" cried Fudge, now positively quivering with delight, "Weasley, have you written it all down, everything he's said, his confession, have you got it?"

Yes, sir, I think so, sir!" said Percy eagerly, whose nose was splattered with ink from the speed of his note-taking.

"The bit about how Potter's been trying to build up an army against the Ministry, how he's been working to destabilize me?"

"That is not what I said." Harry pointed out, even though he was ignored.

"Yes, sir, I've got it, yes!" said Percy, scanning his notes joyfully.

"Very well, then," said Fudge, now radiant with glee. "Duplicate your notes, Weasley, and send a copy to the Daily Prophet at once. If we send a fast owl we should make the morning edition!" Percy dashed from the room, slamming the door behind him, and Fudge turned back to him.

"Minister," said Umbridge, pulling herself together, "I have all their names here, Miss Parkinson ran into the Room of Requirement for me to see if they had left anything behind... We needed evidence and the room provided...The moment I saw Potter's name on the list, I knew what we were dealing with," she said softly. "We can add that to the article."

"Excellent," said Fudge, a smile spreading across his face. "Excellent, Dolores. And...by thunder…"

He looked up at Dumbledore, who was now standing beside Marietta, his wand held loosely in his hand and expression grave.

"See what they've named themselves?" said Fudge quietly. "_Dumbledore's Army._"

Dumbledore reached out and took the piece of parchment from Fudge. He gazed at the heading scribbled by Hermione months before and for a moment seemed unable to speak. Then he looked up, smiling.

"Didn't I just _say _that the group kept meeting to help people study!?" Harry demanded in annoyance, effectively bringing all the attention to himself. "There was nothing _illegal_ about it!"

"How—pray tell—do you think any of this was an approved activity?" Umbridge hissed, "I would never have approved such a club."

"Well you weren't the only one approving clubs, were you?" Harry retorted with barely suppressed glee.

Both Fudge, who paused mid bounce, and Umbridge froze, expressions going from confused to thunderstruck. Looking like he had been hit upside the head with a beater's bat and had not quite registered what had hit him, Fudge sputtered, "W-What are you talking about!?"

Harry gave a nonchalant shrug, shit-eating grin spreading across his face as he eyed Umbridge and Fudge in turn. He did not look at Dumbledore or McGonagall, but knew they would both be sporting stunned expressions until they processed everything. "I got the club approved."

"Approved?" Fudge echoed slowly. "But — but —"

"He is lying, Minister." Umbridge simpered sweetly, even as her eyes gleamed murderously. "I've tried _so hard_ to get him to change his ways but it seems as if-"

"I'm not lying!" Harry interrupted loudly. "Just ask Professor Ross!"

The entire room turned to him again.

"I'll go get her." Malfoy volunteered with a nasty sneer, "Then we can."

"Go Draco," Umbridge said, looking like a cat preparing to pounce, "Tell her we need her for a moment, and we can settle this."

The blonde Slytherin left without another word and made his way down the stairs and hallway. He had a decision to make while the office sat in tense silence.

He'd seen the look Dumbledore had given Potter, he sincerely doubted that Ross would have any clue about Dumbledore's Army. And what a name _that_ was. Could they have picked a more incriminating name?

When Ross showed up, confused and wanting to know what was going on, Potter would get expelled. He'd been looking forward to this day for years. He knew his father would be thrilled he'd helped get scarhead expelled. Maybe Dumbledore would even go down with Potter—Merlin knew the old fool would try to protect his _precious_ Golden Boy.

Ross would also backtrack and to try and protect Potter, because that was how she was. She wouldn't willingly make the mistake that collapsed Potter's house-of-cards lie, nor would she purposely get any student expelled.

He liked that about her. She was powerful and brilliant, but she was also trustworthy—if misguided. She was a mud-_muggleborn_. Somehow that particular slur did not seem to fit with her, it did not belong with her. Like a bad nickname.

He liked her. Not in a weird way—no, she was the very definition of what a pure blood should be, powerful, connected, cunning. But she was a muggleborn, who liked muggle things and made muggle jokes.

She made him do research and learn about the muggles in detentions, but did not give him detentions unjustly. Then the probations happened and the game he'd been playing his whole life suddenly became very real. She had made it very real.

Now, he wasn't so sure. He knew what _she _would want him to do. He knows what his father, and the dark lord, would want him to do. He knew what he was trained to do, but the little voice in the back of his mind had been growing steadily louder—he knew what it wanted him to do, too.

He knocked on her office door.

"Come in!" She called cheerfully.

He stepped in.

"Draco?" She blinked, looking up at him in surprise, "What's wrong?"

He took a deep, shuddering breath. His heart hammered and he felt as if he was swaying.

"I-" he began, his eyes darting everywhere but her face, until he couldn't avoid looking at her any longer. All he needed to say was that she was needed in the Headmaster's office to confirm something—he couldn't tell her any details.

"Potter has gotten himself in trouble." He began.

_**DUMBLEDORE'S OFFICE TEN MINUTES LATER**_

When Malfoy returned with Kate in tow, it was clear (to Harry) that they had been having a discussion prior to entering the office. He wondered what they had to discuss.

"Professor Ross," Fudge began pompously, "did you get approval for defense against the dark arts club?"

Kate, who was still making her way across the room, stopped next to Professor McGonagall, but in front of Dumbledore's desk. She turned, "Yes, I did. Why do you ask?" Her tone was remarkably innocent.

"What was the name of this group?" Umbridge asked, clearly flustered as her face was reddening. "Who asked you to approve it?"

Kate lifted her eyebrows, as if to ask why it mattered, and then said something that completely shattered the tense mood. "Harry over here asked me to help him with a little defense club, they called it Dumbledore's Army, I think."

Umbridge looked horrified and Fudge looked like someone had cancelled Christmas. Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle in overdrive and Professor McGonagall rather resembled the cat that got the canary. Malfoy was smirking at him, smugly.

"Why would you allow this-?" Umbridge blustered, looking as if she was trying to recover from having a bucket of cold water suddenly dropped on her.

"Well, I wanted the students to get as much DADA as they could in, especially the OWL and NEWT students." She smiled causally, "and I had time during detentions to help Harry learn what he needed to teach the group."

Fudge got a brainwave, apparently. "According to the educational decrees—you cannot discuss things that you are not strictly paid to teach-"

"I am paid to teach defense against the dark arts." She said condescendingly.

And Harry had thought Fudge couldn't get any thicker.

"Well," Umbridge interrupted in her annoyingly girlish voice, "I think you are on prob-"

"Now, I don't think _that's_ necessary…" Fudge cut her off hurriedly, "I'm sure it wasn't meant to be-I mean...the club is banned now...Professor Ross, I'm sure—you are considered quite brilliant—you can find another way to get everyone where you want them…"

Harry was momentarily confused and so, apparently, was Umbridge as they ogled at Fudge. Then it hit him like lightning—the defense deal with MACUSA! Fudge couldn't risk doing anything to Kate right now!

Harry wanted to laugh, as it seemed, if the constipated look of Umbridge's face was anything to go by, everyone else had realized it too.

Kate made a skeptical noise at the back of her throat but must have decided that was all she would be getting right now, because she moved the conversation along. "Was that all?"

Fudge and Umbridge looked at each other.

"I suppose." Was the reluctant reply.

The office was emptied of ministry officials shortly, and Harry found a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk in the ensuing silence. Malfoy, unexpectedly, plopped down on the other, and they caught each others' eyes.

It was only a second before Harry did something he'd never thought he'd ever do with Draco Malfoy; they both burst out laughing.

A/N::: REVIEW! I'm sorry for the delay...I've had a chaotic few weeks.


	42. Chapter 42: Justice

Chapter 42: Justice

Under different circumstances the rush of magic, roaring down her arms, filling her stomach and seemingly pouring out of _everywhere_ would have been exhilarating.

Most people described channeling all of their magic like a tingle down their spine or, for more powerful people, like their whole body had fallen asleep and was waking up. To Kate, it felt like her body was an empty reservoir to which the flood gates had just opened. It was wonderful, like a magic high, in a way, but natural, _right_, like this was how it was supposed to be. This power was not _her's_. It _was_ her.

She ignored the feeling for now as she concentrated on the dummy-Horcrux Drake had found.

Apparently, the medieval Rhodesian people used to experiment with soul magic and created several Horcruxes from animals. This particularly gnarled looking statue of a rhino was an odd grey color from a rock she'd never heard of—not that she was an expert in rocks.

She could feel the statue splitting into jagged little pieces under the pressure of her magic. Squeeze. Pull. Rip. Keep going.

Sweat slide down the back of her neck and dropped off her chin. The heat in the room was nearly unbearable. She was shaking and covered in goosebump. Her teeth were clenched or they most certainly would have been chattering. Her skin felt like it was on fire.

There was a faint cracking sound.

She nearly screamed in frustration as all the pressure and heat in the room simply vanished into nothing, leaving a windswept professor and silent chamber.

The small canyon that fell halfway down the rhino she'd been working on was the only indication anything at all had happened in the last few minutes. It sat on a platform covered in the dust and chunks of her previous efforts.

The glazed look on her face gave away nothing of the speed at which the thoughts in her mind ran. Suddenly, her shoulders slumped.

"It just isn't possible…" she whispered, "not in the time frame I have, not without having real test subjects."

She reached up as if to run a hand through her hair but pulled back when she felt the sweat on her forehead. Her jaw locked, she vanished the mess in front of her and left, gait slow and ginger, as if she had just suffered a traumatic injury.

She barely spared a look for her watch, which told her she had better make her way down to dinner. She couldn't have been less hungry.

_**SAME TIME WITH HARRY**_

Harry weaved his way through the crowds hurriedly, eager to slip out of sight of one Dolores Umbridge. Ever since their little encounter in the Headmaster's office and her humiliation in front of the minister, she had taken to basically stalking him. He was pretty sure she was trying to figure out who else was in the DA.

Everyone on the list Umbridge had gotten had already been hauled in for "tea" (read interrogations) but he was proud to say that none of them had given away anything. Unfortunately, the meeting Umbridge had broken up had made it quite clear that the club had grown. Indeed, the rumors swirling the school about what had transpired in Dumbledore's office had bolstered their numbers yet again. Nowadays, it seemed nearly every student had one of Hermione's DA coins. The best part was that every time Umbridge suffered from one of Kate's pranks, it was now immediately attributed to the almost mythical DA, but there was never any evidence against any of the known members. It was quite vexing for Umbridge, he imagined.

The thought made him smile.

A smile that was wiped off his face when he saw his sister descending the grand staircase. She looked like death warmed over.

It was concern that led him to brave wandering back towards the very area he was fleeing to talk to her.

Halfway across the entrance hall, however, Cho came hurrying up to him.

"Over here," said Harry, somewhat glad of a reason to postpone risking a meeting with Umbridge and beckoning her across to the corner of the entrance hall where the giant hourglasses stood. Gryffindor's was now almost empty due to the amount of points Umbridge had taken for the most ridiculous things (while following him around). "Are you okay? Umbridge hasn't been asking you about the DA, has she?"

"Oh no," said Cho hurriedly. "No, it was only...Well, I just wanted to say...Harry, I never dreamed Marietta would tell..."

"Yeah, well," said Harry moodily. He did feel Cho might have chosen her friends a bit more carefully. It was small consolation that the last he had heard, Marietta was still up in the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey had not been able to make the slightest improvement to her pimples.

"She's a lovely person really," said Cho. "She just made a mistake—"

Harry looked at her incredulously. "A lovely person who made a mistake? She sold us all out, including you!"

"Well...we all got away, didn't we?" said Cho pleadingly. "You know, her mum works for the Ministry, it's really difficult for her—"

"Ron's dad works for the Ministry too!" Harry said furiously. "And in case you hadn't noticed, he hasn't got 'sneak' written across his

face—"

"That was a really horrible trick of Hermione Granger's," said Cho fiercely. "She should have told us she'd jinxed that list—"

"I think it was a brilliant idea," said Harry coldly. Cho flushed and her eyes grew brighter.

"Oh yes, I forgot—of course, if it was _Hermione's_ idea—"

"And Professor Ross's," said Harry warningly.

"She didn't know that!" she exclaimed furiously.

"Yeah...well...good," he said. "I told everyone Ross said the club was fine."

"Then you shouldn't have needed to enchant the parchment!" she said furiously, turning on her heel and stalking off.

Harry stared after her, bewildered.

He didn't notice Kate sliding up next to him until she spoke, smirk in her tone. "Girlfriend woes?"

He flushed and glowered at her when she snickered. He suddenly wasn't very concerned about her health—though she did seem to have shaken off whatever was the matter anyhow.

"No! I mean—she's not my _girlfriend_." He spluttered, "I did listen to you, you know...good thing, too." He said ruefully, rubbing the back of his neck self consciously, "Bloody mental, she is."

"I didn't know you knew how to do that." Kate said with fake confusion. He resisted the temptation to shove her.

"Have the other professors been badgering you about the DA?" Harry asked seemingly out of the blue.

"Not really. They all figure Malfoy tipped me off so I could save you." She shrugged, "Mostly thanking me, actually. I might've even gotten Dumbledore's trust back." She snorted slightly.

Harry sniggered a little. "Do they really?"

"Do they really...what?" Kate asked, "Dumbledore?"

"No, do they think _Malfoy_ would actually warn you?" Harry clarified, "they have that little faith that I would go through the proper channels?"

"Perhaps." Kate shrugged, "but they are also right about Draco."

"_Draco_?" Harry repeated incredulously.

"Haven't you wondered what I've been so busy doing with him for the last few weeks?" Kate asked slyly.

"Yes." Harry didn't see a reason to deny it—they'd both know he was lying.

"I've been making him look up the facts on his misguided little view of the world. Clearly I've gotten through to him."

Harry was reluctantly impressed. "Oh."

"I want you two to sit down and have a frank discussion about your rivalry." She continued. "Bury the hatchet."

"What!?" Harry demanded, "No way! Not after all that git has done-"

"I know, Harry." Kate cut him off, "but hear me out."

He looked at her stubbornly, but didn't argue.

She smiled at him thinly. "I don't like him either, but I think you two should at least agree to not to hate each other."

"Frankly, your feud is rather childish and he is changing for the better, something your feud only hinders." Kate said, "But that isn't the main reason I think you two need to move on, I couldn't care less about him in comparison to your well being, but I don't want you to carry this around for the rest of your life, lest you end up like Snape."

"I'm nothing like Snape!" Harry exclaimed indignantly.

"That's true, except for the fact that he still holds onto a childish grudge with a dead man, and takes that out on said dead man's son, who calls someone else dad at this point. All because he couldn't move on from his school days and into his adult life."

Harry grudgingly admitted she had a point.

"And the main reason he can't move on his because he couldn't let go of his childhood hatred of another boy." Kate continued, "He let it ruin his life, and instead of trying to minimize the damage, he continues to lash out. I don't want there to even be a shred of a chance that you could end up like that. Neither one of them was innocent, and at this point, are either you _or_ Draco innocent in your own feud? Forget who started it for a second."

"...fine." He agreed with a sigh, "I'll try to talk to him."

"That is all I ask."

_**THAT SATURDAY**_

"The High Inquisitor would like to see you, Potter," Filch leered at him as he made his way to lunch a few days later.

"I didn't do it," said Harry stupidly, thinking that he'd somehow been framed for Kate's latest prank. Filch's jowls wobbled with silent laughter.

"Guilty conscience, eh?" he wheezed. "Follow me..."

Harry glanced back at Ron and Hermione, who had been with him and were both now looking worried. He shrugged and followed Filch back into the entrance hall, against the tide of hungry students.

Filch seemed to be in an extremely good mood; he hummed creakily under his breath as they climbed the marble staircase. As they reached the first landing he said, "Things are going to change around here, Potter."

"I've noticed," said Harry coldly.

"Yerse...I've been telling Dumbledore for years and years he's too soft with you all," said Filch, chuckling nastily. "You filthy little beasts would never have dropped Stinkpellets if you'd known I had it in my power to whip you raw, would you, now? Nobody would have thought of throwing Fanged Frisbees down the corridors if I could've strung you up by the ankles in my office, would they? But Dolores becomes Headmistress, she'll sign Educational Decree Twenty-nine comes in, Potter, I'll be allowed to do them things…And she'll ask the Minister to sign an order for the expulsion of Peeves…Oh, things are going to be very different around here with her in charge…."

"But she _isn't _in charge." He reminded the old caretaker, mentally adding that she never would be once he told Kate these plans.

Umbridge had obviously gone to some lengths to get Filch on her side, Harry thought, and the worst of it was that he would probably prove an important weapon; his knowledge of the school's secret passageways and hiding places was probably second only to the Weasley twins.

"Here we are," he said, leering down at Harry as he rapped three times upon Professor Umbridge's door and pushed it open. "The Potter boy to see you, ma'am."

Umbridge's office was the same as usual and the foul woman was sitting behind the desk, busily scribbling upon some of her pink parchment, but looked up and smiled widely at their entrance.

"Thank you, Argus," she said sweetly.

"Not at all, ma'am, not at all," said Filch, bowing as low as his rheumatism would permit, and exiting backward.

"Sit," said Umbridge curtly, pointing toward a chair, and Harry sat. She continued to scribble for a few moments. He watched some of the foul kittens gamboling around the plates over her head, wondering what fresh horror she had in store for him.

"Well now," she said finally, setting down her quill and looking like a toad about to swallow a particularly juicy fly. "What would you like to drink?"

"What?" said Harry, quite sure he had misheard her. Then it hit him like a bolt of lightning. He was about to be interrogated.

"To drink, Mr. Potter," she said, smiling still more widely. "Tea? Coffee? Pumpkin juice?"

As she named each drink, she gave her short wand a wave, and a cup or glass of it appeared upon her desk.

"Nothing, thank you," said Harry.

"I wish you to have a drink with me," she said, her voice becoming more dangerously sweet. "Choose one."

"Fine...tea then," said Harry, shrugging.

She got up and made quite a performance of adding milk with her back to him. She then bustled around the desk with it, smiling in sinisterly sweet fashion.

"There," she said, handing it to him. "Drink it before it gets cold, won't you? Well, now, Mr. Potter . . . I thought we ought to have a little chat, after the distressing events of the other night."

He said nothing. She settled herself back into her seat and waited. When several long moments had passed in silence, she said gaily, "You're not drinking up!"

He raised the cup to his lips and then, just as suddenly, lowered it. One of the horrible painted kittens behind Umbridge had great round blue eyes just like Mad-Eye Moody's magical one, and it had just occurred to Harry what Mad-Eye would say if he ever heard that Harry had drunk anything offered by a known enemy. Even worse, what would _Kate_ say?

"What's the matter?" said Umbridge, who was still watching him. "Do you want sugar?"

"No," said Harry.

He raised the cup to his lips again and pretended to take a sip, though keeping his mouth tightly closed. Umbridge's smile widened.

"Good," she whispered. "Very good. Now then…" She leaned forward a little. "Who told Ross about your little club to cover for you?"

"She was the one who approved it," said Harry promptly.

"Drink up, drink up," she said, still smiling. "Now, Mr. Potter, let us not play childish games. I know that you know what happened. You and Dumbledore and Ross have been in this together from the beginning. Consider your position, Mr. Potter..."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Part of him was grateful he did know, so he could fully enjoy this, but another part wondered if it would have been better if Kate _hadn't _told him.

Harry pretended to drink again.

"Very well," said Umbridge, looking displeased. "In that case, you will kindly tell me the whereabouts of Sirius Black."

Harry's stomach turned over and his hand holding the teacup shook so that the cup rattled in its saucer. He tilted the cup to his mouth with his lips pressed together, so that some of the hot liquid trickled down onto his robes.

"I don't know," he said. Where had she gotten the idea he'd have any clue where Sirius was? Not that he didn't know perfectly well...

"Mr. Potter," said Umbridge, "let me remind you that it was I who almost caught the criminal Black in the Gryffindor fire in October. I know perfectly well it was you he was meeting and if I had had any proof neither of you would be at large today, I promise you. I repeat, Mr. Potter...Where is Sirius Black?"

"What? I have no idea what your talking about," said Harry. "I haven't talked to anyone in any fires."

They stared at each other so long that Harry felt his eyes watering. Then she stood up.

"Very well, Potter, I will take your word for it this time, but be warned: The might of the Ministry stands behind me. All channels of communication in and out of this school are being monitored. A Floo Network Regulator is keeping watch over every fire in Hogwarts— except my own, of course. I am forming an Inquisitorial Squad to open and read all owl post entering and leaving the castle. And Mr. Filch is observing all secret passages in and out of the castle. If I find a shred of evidence..."

He wondered what kind of moron she was, telling him all of her plans. It wasn't like her communications block would stop the Rogues' from getting information to each other.

"I'll be sure to pass the warning on." He said, leaving her to wonder who he'd be meeting to tell. He left before she could fully form her splutter of outrage.

_**TIFF'S RESTAURANT THAT NIGHT**_

"Reports?" Lily asked the room at large. It was well after closing time for Tiff's restaurant, which meant that they were all free to put some tables together, raid the kitchen, and then sprawl out around their makeshift meeting room.

Cella, who was laying in a booth some feet from the rest of them, flat on her back and her face out of view, spoke first. "The deal with Britain has been signed, sealed, and delivered, as promised."

"How much political capital did it cost you?" Kenna asked her.

"Not as much as it will when the war starts and it's my fault we have anything to do with it." Cella said.

Several of them winced sympathetically, but she anticipated them.

"It's ok, though. We all know that with this economy and all those dead dark lords—thanks Kate—I'm going to get re-elected for my last term."

"You better." Tiff snorted, "Business has been booming."

"Yeah, I have to announce my candidacy, though. Soon too." Cella pointed out.

"I completely forgot about that..." Kate said.

"It's been a busy year." Cella shrugged.

"Anything else to report?"

"We need another way to save Harry." Kate said quickly, nearly mumbling.

"What?"

"Why?"

"What happened?"

"If there is a way to cut souls apart, I need _far_ more time and resources than we have." She said. "I'm sorry—I thought I could fix this…"

"It's not your fault, Kate," said Cella.

"We'll find another way." Lily agreed.

"Was there anything you _did _manage to accomplish?" Jamie asked.

"There is something—when I started on the statues they were magical but by the time I was done," Kate paused, "they were completely devoid of anything I could sense."

"That's got potential." Jake said.

"It _would_ be poetic." Jamie agreed.

"Sis, you and I _are_ on the same page."

A/N:: REVIEW! I love them...I read them faster than I read my favorite fic updates!


End file.
